The first sentence is (at least to me) obviously untrue -- their have been people clearly and publicly saying this is a serious problem since at least the mid-90's. The book "The Coming Plague" came out in 1995, and discusses almost this exact scenario: http://www.amazon.com/The-Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases/dp...

There is little spending on public health issues, crumbling infrastructure, and, due to ease of travel and overcrowding, diseases spread faster then ever before.