Front Cover
With the new coronavirus spreading around the world and the avian influenza afflicting western Japan, there has been an ever-increasing interest in infectious diseases in the media and among the public.
In 2005, in the wake of 2003 SARS, Hokkaido University established the Research Center for Zoonosis Control (CZC), and has since been conducting comprehensive research to prevent outbreaks of zoonotic and other infectious diseases such as human influenza, highly pathogenic avian influenza, viral hemorrhagic fever, and African sleeping sickness. In collaboration with the WHO and other domestic and international organizations, CZC has been actively engaged in identifying pathogens, host animals and transmission routes, as well as developing diagnostic methods and antiviral drugs.
This magazine features the University's effort to help control zoonotic and other infectious diseases, and showcase research activities in various areas including agriculture, medicine, materials science, and astronomy.
