the us hegemony seems to be on decay since the second decade of the twenty-first century. since most of america›s economic and military rivals, are rising from asia, this amazing transition marks a historic re-location of power centers from the west eastward, and the end of western civilization›s domination over global culture and politics, distinguishing this era from previous power transition...

Dengue has been known in the Americas since the 18th century. During the 1960s and 1970s dengue pandemics occurred in the Caribbean, northern South America and Central America, and, during the 1980s and 1990s, virtually every country in the Americas experienced dengue epidemics. Dengue serotypes 1, 2 and 4 circulate widely and, since 1994, DEN-3 has circulated in Central America and Mexico. The...

In the prevaccine era pertussis and diphtheria were responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in children. In the United States of America more than 125,000 cases of diphtheria with 10,000 deaths were reported annually in the 1920s. In the same period about 1.7 million cases of pertussis with 73,000 deaths were also reported. Vaccination against these two diseases has caused remarkabl...

During the 1890s and the first three decades of the 20th century, social work in the United States developed a community-based direct practice approach to family assistance and social reform. The basis for this method was a situational view of social life that emphasized the use of interpersonal and transactional methods to achieve social and individual change. This article highlights important...

Pertussis, or whooping cough, a highly contagious disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, is making a comeback globally and nationally in spite of reasonable vaccination coverage. This paper provides an update on laboratory testing methods that assist the confirmation of clinical disease and investigation of outbreaks. Laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis by polymerase chain reaction or ser...

After decades of declining mumps incidence amid widespread vaccination, the United States and other developed countries have experienced a resurgence in mumps cases over the last decade. Outbreaks affecting vaccinated individuals and communities with high vaccine coverage have prompted concerns about the effectiveness of the live attenuated vaccine currently in use. It is unclear whether immune...

Zika virus (ZIKV) has re-emerged to cause explosive epidemics in the Pacific and Latin America, and appears to be associated with severe neurological complications including microcephaly in babies. ZIKV is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes, principally Ae. aegypti, and there is historical evidence of ZIKV circulation in Southeast Asia. It is therefore clear that Malaysia is at risk of s...