This film takes us to the forefront of the war against deadly microorganisms and lethal viruses. Unique and detailed images shot by medical photographer Lennart Nilsson with advanced electron microscopes make it possible to meet our enemies close up, some enlarged 10 million times.

War Against Disease reveals how microbes attack the human body and how our immune systems defend it. We look at how quickly the SARS virus spread as travellers moved around the globe. We also see cutting-edge stem cell research as immature nerve cells from the brain grow - eventually becoming brand new brain cells, ready to improve quality of life among patients with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Dr. Robert Gallo, leading immunology expert and discoverer of the HIV virus, explains why humans have to continue battling these threats, and why AIDS and SARS are definitely not going to be the last of such difficult diseases to plague humans.

Other stories centre on penicillin, malaria, the discovery of blood groups, and polio - the first identified virus.