Diseases are a potentially threat to humanity. Despite their disappearance from the news they are still out there.

Recent developments in vaccines and methods of vaccine production point toward the possibility of universal vaccines for both flu and HIV, vaccines that might protect against most, if not all, forms of the disease, and methods of production that are far faster and cheaper. It is offering hope that we some day might be able to eliminate both flue and HIV as we have eliminated smallpox.

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/06/tedtalks_seth_berkley_hiv_and.php