An article in the Guardian highlights the critical skills needed to identify, treat and limit the impact of new diseases. It is important these and other skills are retained as the global community moves forward in what may become a continuous battle for health security. The broader inputs from behavioural scientists and other stakeholders/participants in the social science field are equally important in our fight against current and emerging disease states as interventions depend on the public perception of risk and how this plays out in the community. This crucial piece of the jigsaw became apparent in the early stages of the HIV pandemic in the 80s and 90s.