“German boffins have worked out a much improved method of making latex using the sticky white fluid which comes out of dandelion stems. The new breakthrough could mean more comfortable body-cavity searches, an end to itchy condoms, and might free humanity from the threat posed by a global rubber fungus epidemic.”
The cause of Rubber Tree Bark Necrosis (RTBN) was found to be basically poor soil management and harvesting too much latex sap. This problem was identified in 2005.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050608065823.htm
Unless we are talking about a newer epidemic.