Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases: Global Overview

Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases of Animals and Plants

Emerging and reemerging infectious diseases: the perpetual challenge.

Public health officials once suggested that it might someday be possible to "close the book" on the study and treatment of infectious diseases. However, it is now clear that endemic diseases as well as newly emerging ones (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS]), reemerging ones (e.g., West Nile virus), and even deliberately disseminated infectious diseases (e.g., anthrax from bioterror...

New and Reemerging Infectious Diseases

virus persistence, and flaviviral recombination as a mechanism of flaviviral evolution. In addition, data were presented that illustrated the persistence of, and immune modulation by, alphaviruses, which, in concert, allow the virus to replicate while preventing the host from responding to its benefit. Other than the classical techniques of preventing infection, little was mentioned about disea...

Emerging and Reemerging Diseases and Globalization

After 9/11, the literature on health policy and infectious diseases placed considerable emphasis on bioterrorism and national security issues, refl ect-ing the permanently altered perceptions of America and other nations with

Effective global response to emerging infectious diseases.

To discuss the global efforts needed to detect and control emerging infections, I will begin with a personal experience. In 1987, a large epidemic of meningococcal meningitis occurred during the haj, the annual pilgrimage of Moslems to Mecca. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent a team of epidemiologists and laboratorians to Kennedy Airport to meet the thousands of pilgrims...