Twenty-nine years ago today, on May 19, 1996 (April 3, 1996, lunar calendar), the World Health Organization reported that 17 million people worldwide died of infectious diseases. On May 19, 1996, the World Health Organization released the 1996 World Health Report, stating that human health still faces a serious threat from infectious diseases, and the world's task of fighting various infectious diseases is even more arduous. In 1995, more than 17 million people died from infectious diseases worldwide, 9 million of whom were children. The report said that in the past 20 years, at least 30 new and resurfaced infectious diseases have emerged, and many infectious diseases threaten 1/2 of the world's population. Due to the lack of effective implementation of prevention and control measures, some infectious diseases that have disappeared or are being eradicated, such as cholera, malaria and tuberculosis, have resurfaced in many parts of the world. The emergence of easily contagious diseases such as AIDS and Ebola haemorrhagic fever poses a new threat to mankind. Now people are suspected that mad cow disease will be transmitted to humans and cause new brain diseases. At the same time, as the bacteria gradually become resistant, many antibiotics used to prevent and treat infectious diseases are losing their efficacy. Several commonly used drugs for the treatment of pneumonia have been eliminated due to a sharp decline in efficacy. The reason why this situation is worrying is that new drugs are scarce and cannot fill the vacuum left by failed drugs. The report points out that with the joint efforts of the international community, mankind is expected to eliminate some infectious diseases including polio and leprosy in the near future. However, the work of preventing and treating various infectious diseases is still quite arduous. The report lists many factors contributing to the spread of infectious diseases: the urban population has skyrocketed and the living environment is crowded and unsanitary; Wars and natural disasters lead to population movements; increasingly developed aviation and trade create conditions for the spread of germs from one country to another in a matter of days or even hours; and public health systems in some countries are paralyzed for social and economic reasons. WHO calls on the international community to increase funding and not relax efforts to eradicate polio, leprosy and other diseases. The following measures should be taken as a priority for emerging infectious diseases: strengthening national and international epidemiological surveillance; Develop prevention strategies for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases; respond rapidly to outbreaks of serious diseases. The report emphasizes that the primary task of mankind in the fight against disease should be to reduce poverty and promote development. Infectious diseases are no longer just a health issue, but have become a social problem with incalculable consequences for the world. No country is absolutely safe, and no one can anymore turn a blind eye to this threat.