LONDON - A new weapon in the global battle against infectious disease was recently unveiled in London. The Bloomsbury Institute for Pathogen Research has been launched as a collaboration between two big university research groups to combat pathogens - infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and parasites. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine brings expertise in parasitic and bacterial diseases, while University College London contributes long experience and excellent facilities for researching viral illnesses. Professor Simon Croft from the London School explains to Peter Goodwin how the new institute forms an important tool to be used along with excellent health system planning to fight infections everywhere.