New global viral threats

New global viral threats

Infectious diseases have caused great catastrophes in human history, as in the example of the plague, which wiped out half of the population in Europe in the 14th century. Ebola virus and H7N9 avian influenza virus are 2 lethal pathogens that we have encountered in the second decade of the 21st century. Ebola infection is currently being seen in West Africa, and H7N9 avian flu appears to have s...

Managing the new global threats

Emerging viral diseases: confronting threats with new technologies.

Emerging viral diseases pose ongoing health threats, particularly in an era of globalization; however, new biomedical research technologies such as genome sequencing and structure-based vaccine and drug design have improved our ability to respond to viral threats.

The new health threats of exotic and global travel.

INTRODUCTION We live in a globalised world with travel, population movements, and migration impacting virtually all countries. As a result, global infectious disease epidemiology is changing. Greater global mobility leads to the potential of importing, exporting, or spreading communicable diseases across regions, borders, and continents, potentially posing a health threat to the UK. The movemen...

Global Health Threats : Global Warming in Perspective

Some authorities have claimed that global warming is one of the most—if not the most—important public health threat of this century. They do not, however, support this assertion by comparative analysis of the relative magnitude and severity of various health threats. Such an analysis, presented here, shows that other global health threats outrank global warming at present, and are likely to con...