Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future.
Emerging infections can be caused by
previously undetected or unknown infectious agents
known agents that have spread to new geographic locations or new populations
previously known agents whose role in specific diseases has previously gone unrecognized.
re-emergence of agents whose incidence of disease had significantly declined in the past, but whose incidence of disease has reappeared. This class of diseases is known as re-emerging infectious diseases.
The World Health Organization in its 2007 report warned that infectious diseases are emerging at a rate that has not been seen before. Since the 1970s, about 40 infectious diseases have been discovered, including SARS, avian flu, and Ebola. With people traveling much more frequently and far greater distances than in the past, the potential for emerging infectious diseases to spread rapidly and cause global epidemics is a major concern.
Additionally, there is the potential for diseases to emerge as a result of deliberate introduction into human, animal, or plant populations for terrorist purposes. These diseases are discussed under Bioterrorism Agents.
No comments:
Post a Comment