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An important objective of public health practice and policy development is to influence health behavior change in the population. During the pre-COVID-19 era, this core objective of public health was observed in the significant increase of global support for the public health field with increasing attention to preventing exposures to unhealthy behaviors and risk factors while encouraging healthy lifestyle practices through behavioral modifications. The public health practitioners were excited about the positive outcomes of these interventions at private, public and professional levels. However, bridging the disparities gap is still a problem. Globally, there are major health disparity issues concerning healthcare, vaccination, prevention of diseases and treatment of diseases. The disparity gap is also increasing between racial groups and countries. The COVID-19 era significantly exposed the complexities of these disparities within healthcare practices such as access to care, vaccination and treatments for COVID-19 both within and across countries.

Introduction to Global Health is a comprehensive look at today's most critical global health concerns and the actions that people around the world are taking to solve public health problems and to promote health and wellbeing. The Fourth Edition of Introduction to Global Health maintains the clarity and ease of use of the prior edition, while featuring a greater emphasis on the specific interventions that are being implemented to promote longer, healthier lives worldwide and prevent disease, disability, and early death in countries of all income levels. Every chapter balances material about pandemics, climate change, and other emerging threats to global public health with evidence of how global health interventions are enabling progress toward achieving health equity.

The International Encyclopedia of Public Health, Third Edition, Five Volume Set is an authoritative and comprehensive guide to the major issues, challenges, methods, and approaches of global public health. Spanning across 5 volumes, 13 subject areas and 480 chapters, this new edition takes a multidisciplinary approach and presents the history, methodology, and latest advances in biomedical research and related scientific fields, including social sciences, life sciences, and bioengineering to address public health research, disease, health processes, and disciplines. The book offers readers evidence-based analysis and information on solutions to real-world problems in global and local health through a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach.Covering all dimensions of the field, from the details of specific diseases, to the organization of social insurance agencies, the articles included comprise the fundamental research areas of global public health: historical roots, scientific research methodology and approaches, public health of vulnerable population subgroups (the aged, children and adolescents, at-risk populations), environmental and occupational epidemiology, and much more.Includes the most comprehensive, high-level, internationally focused reference work available on public healthPresents an invaluable resource for both researchers familiar with the field and non-experts requiring easy-to-find, relevant, global information and a greater understanding of the wider issuesIncorporates biomedical and health social science issues and perspectivesProvides a comprehensive overview of all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic Focuses on the dynamic collaboration of many scientific areas for the improvement of healthcare in communities

For 125 years, physicians have relied on Manson's Tropical Diseases for a comprehensive clinical overview of this complex and fast-changing field. The fully revised 24th Edition, Dr. Jeremy Farrar, along with an internationally recognized editorial team, global contributors, and expert authors, delivers the latest coverage on parasitic and infectious diseases from around the world. From the difficult to diagnose to the difficult to treat, this highly readable, award-winning reference prepares you to effectively handle whatever your patients may have contracted. Covers all of tropical medicine in a comprehensive manner, general medicine in the tropics, and non-clinical issues regarding public health and ethics. Serves as an indispensable resource for physicians who treat patients with tropical diseases and/or will be travelling to the tropics, or who are teaching others in this area. Contains a new section on 21st Century Drivers of Tropical Medicine, with chapters covering Poverty and Inequality, Public Health in Settings of Conflict and Political Instability, Climate Change, and Medical Product Quality and Public Health. Includes all-new chapters on Surgery in the Topics, Yellow Fever, Systemic Mycoses, and COVID-19. Covers key topics such as drug resistance; emerging and reemerging infections such as Zika, Ebola, and Chikungunya; novel diagnostics such as PCR-based methods; point-of care-tests such as ultrasound; public health in settings of conflict and political instability; and much more. Differentiates approaches for resource-rich and resource-poor areas. Includes reader-friendly features such as highlighted key information, convenient boxes and tables, extensive cross-referencing, and clinical management diagrams.

This book is intended to show the great achievements and valuable experience of Chinese public health practices and epidemiological theories and methods. It is conducive to expanding medical workers'practical ability of disease prevention and control, and to bridging the gap between clinical medicine and public health.In part 1, it introduces the progress in epidemiology of 10 infectious diseases. In part 2, it covers 11 non-communicable diseases. The research method and prediction modelling and public health ethics are discussed in the 11 chapters of part 3. The contributors include epidemiologists and public health experts, as well as more clinicians, mathematicians, sociologists, philosophers (ethicists), bioinformatics and so on. Among them, there are not only professors from universities, but also researchers from scientific research institutes, and experts in the front line of disease prevention and control.

The “Integrated Science of Global Epidemics” is the new proposed volume of Integrated Science Book series, aiming to publish the results of the most updated ideas and reviews on Global Epidemics. The whole world is suffering from complex problems, border less problems and global solution should be developed. The Integrated Science of Global Epidemics aims to highlight the combination of different disciplines, including formal sciences, physical-chemical sciences and engineering, biological sciences, medical sciences, and social sciences, to deal with complex problems such as global epidemics. This contributed volume could be used as guidelines for the entire scientific community and policy makers to successfully face these global threats.Chapter 27 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

The heart of this volume is exploring the links between human disease spread and the broad Silk Road trading networks which connect Eurasian civilizations past and today. Compiled by an international team of subject authors, this book includes two themed parts. Readers are first introduced into history naming, former, present and future routes of the Silk Road, representing the longest trade way and culture diffuser in the world. The second part contains the main book focus and addresses medical research as well as individual diseases and parasite groups from the region in detail. By drawing an arc between the past and present disease situation, the authors trace how parasites and vectors spread around the globe, and what impact infectious diseases had and will have upon human civilizations.Through its interdisciplinary character this book will be enjoyed by interested readers from the fields of parasitology and palaeoparasitology, medical sciences and public health, as well as cultural history.

Evidence-based guidelines are one of the most useful tools for improving public health and clinical practice. Their purpose is to formulate interventions based on strong evidence of efficacy, avoid unnecessary risks, use resources efficiently, reduce clinical variability and, in essence, improve health and ensure quality care, which is the purpose of health systems and services. These guidelines were developed following the GRADE methodology, with the support of a panel of clinical experts from different countries, all convened by the Pan American Health Organization. By responding to twelve key questions about the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, evidence-based recommendations were formulated for pediatric, youth, adult, older adult, and pregnant patients who are exposed to these diseases or have a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of infection. The purpose of the guidelines is to prevent progression to severe forms of these diseases and the fatal events they may cause. The recommendations are intended for health professionals, including general, resident, and specialist physicians, nursing professionals, and medical and nursing students, who participate in caring for patients with suspected dengue, chikungunya, or Zika. They are also intended for health unit managers and the executive teams of national arboviral disease prevention and control programs, who are responsible for facilitating the process of implementing these guidelines.

This book is a guide to the research, findings, and discussions of US and international experts on climate change and respiratory health. Since the publication of the first edition, climate change has been increasingly acknowledged as being directly related to the prevalence and incidence of respiratory morbidity. Evidence is increasing that climate change does drive respiratory disease onset and exacerbation as a result of increased ambient and indoor air pollution, desertification, heat stress, wildfires, and the geographic and temporal spread of pollens, molds and infectious agents. This second edition is fully updated to include the latest research by international experts on topics such as heat waves causing critical care-related diseases, climate-driven air pollution increases, and high-level ozone and ozone exposure linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infection. Seven new chapters have also been added on extremeweather and agricultural safety in California; desert dust effects on lung health; climate policy and the EPA; California's integrated approach to air quality and climate change; integrating climate change, the environment, and sustainability themes into professional health science courses; and the role of the physician as climate advocate. This is an ideal guide for all pulmonologists and health professionals treating patients with pulmonary disease.

Offering up-to-date coverage of familiar flaviviruses that are spreading into new regions or are causing increasingly severe disease, as well as viruses that are almost unknown in most developed nations, Zika and Other Neglected and Emerging Flaviviruses brings together information that allows for easy comparison of similarities and differences of this viral group in a single, convenient volume. Each chapter includes a brief Introduction, history, the diseases, the virus, the immune response, prevention or treatment, an extensive list of references, and a summary overview. The book concludes with a chapter tying together information about flaviviruses and other potential new microbial threats. Covers familiar flaviviruses that are spreading into new regions or are causing increasingly severe disease (such as Zika, dengue and West Nile viruses), as well as lesser-knowns viruses such as tick-borne encephalitis virus, Powassan virus, Omsk hemorrhagic fever, and Murray Valley encephalitis virus. Allows health-related personnel to search for potential treatments and protective responses by examining what measure did or did not work with other, related flaviviruses. Helps readers understand how to prevent or contain newly emerging viral threats—a particularly timely topic regarding the global spread of COVID-19 and the potential of tick-borne encephalitis to rapidly spread and cause severe illness, panic, and disruption of economies. Consolidates today's available information on this timely topic into a single, convenient resource.

Nephrology is one of the fastest growing specialties in medicine. Nevertheless, kidney disease is one of the most serious unmet health needs in many countries. To provide healthcare access with the desirable equity worldwide, the nephrology community needs to discuss this public health issue and take part in decisions for elaboration of public health policies with more justice and equity. This book brings together key current public health problems that affect kidney function and illuminates them in contributions by an international group of nephrologists and general practitioners. The chapters review current knowledge and provide guidelines to manage these conditions and decrease the disease burden. At the end, developments in the digital era and their application to kidney disease treatment are synthesized, and a broader outlook on the future of nephrology is given. Ultimately, the publication aims to gather nephrology and public health expertise from researchers from all over the world, providing a broad vision of issues that must be discussed and overcome to guarantee a better treatment for patients with kidney diseases in the world today.

This book discusses current evidence on human viruses and provides an extensive coverage of newly emerged viruses and current strategies for treatment. Offering a new perspective in view of the re-emergence of Ebola in African countries and Dengue in India and Pakistan, the contents include chapters on emergence, pathogenicity, epidemiology and vaccine uptake. Human Viruses: Diseases, Treatments and Vaccines: The New Insights discusses a range of viruses from the most common such as Influenza and Hepatitis to Zika, Poliomyelitis and Chikungunya among many others. It is authored by a team of experts on viral disease and will be of immense use to virologists, public health experts and clinicians.

En la actualidad, las guías basadas en la evidencia constituyen una de las herramientas más útiles para mejorar la salud pública y la práctica clínica. Su finalidad es formular intervenciones con sólidas pruebas de eficacia, evitar riesgos innecesarios, utilizar los recursos de forma eficiente, disminuir la variabilidad clínica y, en esencia, mejorar la salud y garantizar una atención de calidad, razón de ser de los sistemas y servicios de salud. Las presentes directrices se elaboraron siguiendo la metodología GRADE con el apoyo de un panel de expertos clínicos de distintos países, todos ellos convocados por la Organización Panamericana de la Salud. Por medio de la respuesta a doce preguntas clave sobre el diagnóstico clínico y el tratamiento del dengue, el chikunguña y el zika, se formulan recomendaciones basadas en evidencia para pacientes pediátricos, jóvenes, adultos, personas mayores y embarazadas expuestos a estas enfermedades o con sospecha o diagnóstico confirmado de infección. La finalidad de las directrices es evitar la progresión a las formas graves y a los eventos mortales que puedan causar.Las recomendaciones están dirigidas a profesionales de la salud, incluidos el personal médico general, residente y especialista; y los profesionales de enfermería, así como a estudiantes de medicina y enfermería, quienes de una u otra forma participan en la atención de pacientes con sospecha de dengue, chikunguña o zika. También se dirige a los administradores de las unidades de salud y a los equipos directivos de los programas nacionales de prevención y control de enfermedades arbovirales, quienes tienen la responsabilidad de facilitar el proceso de aplicación de estas directrices.Esperamos que esta publicación beneficie no solo al personal de salud, que dispondrá de información científica actualizada y de la mejor calidad posible, sino a los menores, los adultos, las embarazadas, las personas mayores y la población en general, quienes recibirán una mejor atención de salud prestada por personal médico debidamente capacitado.

This unique book provides an introduction to the fascinating field of tropical nephrology, covering nephrology, infectious diseases and tropical medicine. These topics are connected since numerous infectious and parasitic diseases affect the kidneys and are endemic in the tropical areas of the globe. Considered neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organization, they are largely linked to poverty and lack policies to prevent, treat and decrease their prevalence and incidence. The tropics currently encompass nearly 150 countries and account for 40% of the world's population, and it is predicted that by 2050 this figure will rise to 55%. Most of the countries in the tropical regions have been classified by the World Bank as low-middle income countries and have limited access to services, including health care. As such, this highly topical book is of interest to a large number of healthcare professionals and researchers who are in contact with tropical diseases, especially those investigating their complications, such as kidney injury. Divided into 23 chapters, it describes the most prevalent tropical diseases and conditions that affect the kidneys. It also presents the most recent epidemiological data, clinical manifestations, details of kidney involvement, including the pathophysiology of kidney injury, and the current treatment for each disease.

Infectious diseases as a specialty suffers from many unique challenges stemming from lower salaries compared to other medical specialties and difficulty keeping the younger demographic within the field. With emerging infections, new diagnostic and research tools, and changing migration patterns, these problems are amplified; infectious disease specialists are in higher demand than ever with fewer and fewer specialists available to support patients and colleagues outside of the field. To meet these increasing challenges, it is vital for the workforce of the future to have the best training possible. This book aims to provide this support. As trainees, all physicians face clinical infectious disease scenarios on a daily basis. They receive basic training in common infections, giving them the tools needed for initial diagnostic studies and empiric treatment. This approach, however, still leaves them struggling with nuances of treating common infections, infections that masquerade as other diseases, rare infection, advanced diagnostics, complicating medical conditions, and a wide range of medical complexities. Important clinical microbiology details and host susceptibility risks will be highlighted when discussing uncommon infections. Each chapter begins by defining a distinct clinical infectious disease problem and the most common cause(s). The next section of each chapter identifies the key questions to consider, including other possible pathogens, medical history, alternate microbiologic diagnoses, instances of unexpected result. This book is the only academic text designed specifically to meet this challenge by targeting learners at all levels. To do this, the text incorporate 30-40 common clinical infectious disease scenarios in both adult and pediatric hosts. It includes easy-to-access “tips and tricks” for when to look further or consider possibilities that are unusual that is useful for someone who is new to the information or has limited experience within infectious diseases. The text heavily features teaching and learning tools, including call out boxes that prioritizes infectious etiologies, host risk factors, important microbiologic clues, and important clinical history clues. The text also includes review questions and quiz-like challenges to reinforce the concepts. Written by experts in the field Clinical Infectious Diseases is the most cutting-edge academic resource for all medical students, fellows, residents, and trainees, including infectious disease specialists in both adult and pediatric care, internal medicine specialists, and hospitalists.

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a group of diseases frequently found in impoverished communities in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The risk for many of the NTDs is high in both deprived urban and rural areas of East Asia. Adapted to the endemic settings and characteristics of the diseases, a range of tools and strategies are currently being rolled out for the large-scale control of many NTDs. Both vector control measures and community sensitization programmes have for example been used to control dengue in urbanized settings. Challenges posed by yaws and lymphatic filariasis are being addressed by mass drug administration, while rabies requires the involvement of the veterinary public health sector for disease control. For leprosy, an elimination target has been defined; however, achieving this goal remains a considerable challenge. Food-borne trematodiases, on the other hand, are emerging and require a deeper understanding of its burden in East Asia and how these diseasescan be tackled in a cost-effective manner. Finally, factors, such as an increase of non-communicable diseases due to changing lifestyles which accompany economic growth, the spreading HIV epidemic as well as climate change and the occurrence of natural disasters can potentially affect the epidemiology and control of NTDs. This volume discusses the mentioned topics in detail with contributions by experts in the respective research areas from different working environments.

This book focuses on the emerging health issues due to climate change, particularly emphasizing the situation in developing countries. Thanks to recent development in the areas of remote sensing, GIS technology, and downscale modeling of climate, it has now become possible to depict and predict the relationship between environmental factors and health-related event data with a meaningful spatial and temporal scale. The chapters address new aspects of environment-health relationship relevant to this smaller scale analyses, including how considering people's mobility changes the exposure profile to certain environmental factors, how considering behavioral characteristics is important in predicting diarrhea risks after urban flood, and how small-scale land use patterns will affect the risk of infection by certain parasites, and subtle topography of the land profile. Through the combination of reviews and case studies, the reader would be able to learn how the issues of health and climate/social changes can be addressed using available technology and datasets. The post-2015 UN agenda has just put forward, and tremendous efforts have been started to develop and establish appropriate indicators to achieve the SDG goals. This book will also serve as a useful guide for creating such an indicator associated with health and planning, in line with the Ecohealth concept, the major tone of this book. With the increasing and pressing needs for adaptation to climate change, as well as societal change, this would be a very timely publication in this trans-disciplinary field.

This book covers all aspects of Neglected Tropical Diseases in the region of South Asia. NTDs constitute a significant part of the total disease burden in this geographic area, including soil borne helminth infections, vector borne viral infections, protozoan infections and a few bacterial infections. The current volume covers the most common neglected viral, bacterial and protozoan infections. On top of that, the last part of the volume is dedicated to the management of neglected tropical diseases.

El Manual de Salud Pública (Tercera Edición), ofrece a los lectores una serie de dieciocho temas selectos con los que pretende abarcar los diferentes aspectos del quehacer de la salud pública, desde las herramientas metodológicas de la epidemiología hasta las estrategias del desarrollo del potencial humano, tocando áreas relevantes para la salud poblacional actual.

This volume of the Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) series covers the most prevalent NTDs in Oceania. This book will discuss in detail pathology, diagnostics and control approaches of selected NTDs in the geographic region. A large part of Oceania's population lives in poverty and therefore is at high risk for certain parasitic diseases, such as hookworm infection, lymphatic filariasis, strongyloidiasis or scabies. In addition viral infections such as dengue and new emerging viruses are of importance as major health risks for people living and traveling in this area. Each chapter focuses on one specific disease or series of related diseases, and provides in-depth insights into the topic.

This book pursues a multidisciplinary approach in order to evaluate the socio-ecological dimensions of infectious diseases in Southeast Asia. It includes 18 chapters written by respected researchers in the fields of history, sociology, ecology, epidemiology, veterinary sciences, medicine and the environmental sciences on six major topics: (1) Infectious diseases and societies, (2) Health, infectious diseases and socio-ecosystems; (3) Global changes, land use changes and vector-borne diseases; (4) Monitoring and data acquisition; (5) Managing health risks; and (6) Developing strategies. The book offers a valuable guide for students and researchers in the fields of development and environmental studies, animal and human health (veterinarians, physicians), ecology and conservation biology, especially those with a focus on Southeast Asia.

Information technology and the information sciences have been part of our lives for some time now. They have revolutionized the healthcare system, changing the whole health landscape, as well as health culture. New devices, sources of data and roles for all those involved in healthcare are being developed as a result. This book presents the proceedings of the 25th European Medical Informatics Conference, held in Istanbul, Turkey in August/September 2014. The conference aims to present the most recent developments in biomedical informatics. The book is divided into 15 sections, which include: decision support systems and clinical practice guidelines; improved healthcare through informatics; data analysis; mobile health; technology and system evaluation; and text mining. The final two sections present posters from the conference. The book will be of interest to all those in the healthcare sector, researchers and practitioners alike, who develop, evaluate or work with information technology.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is highly endemic for several neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including viral, bacterial, protozoan and helminth infections. This new volume covers the most prevalent NTDs found in about 22 MENA countries emphasizing the disease burden, clinical manifestations and control approaches. Each individual chapter deals with one specific disease and is written by a group of experts on that topic.

A number of diseases and conditions that occur primarily in remote rural or poor urban areas of low-income countries have traditionally been neglected by the neuroscience research community. These diseases and conditions affect the nervous system directly (sometimes with lethal consequences) and/or are associated with severe neurological sequels such as epilepsy, cognitive deficits, and sleep disruption. Several diseases also have the effect of promoting poverty by leaving sufferers unable to lead economically productive lives due to cognitive and behavioral disturbances or severe stigmatization. The pathogenesis of neural dysfunction in the diseases addressed in this book and their sequels remains unclear. Neuroscience of Neglected Diseases and Conditions makes available much needed information about how these diseases affect the human nervous system as well as to promote interest in further research. Further research into neglected diseases and conditions will uncover information that sheds light on more general topics of interest to the neuroscience research community.​

Striking changes have occurred in the world since the publication of the last edition of Viral Infections of Humans. The global population is rapidly approaching 8 billion; climate change is leading to the introduction of new hosts, vectors and virus diseases heretofore never seen in many parts of the world; technological advances have revolutionized the ability to recognize and characterize viruses new and old; vaccines are altering the epidemiological landscape of the diseases they target, in some cases raising the hope of their eradication and remarkably powerful computational tools are enabling not only detection of outbreaks of disease much sooner than in the past but also, through complex mathematical modeling, more accurate prediction of their potential impact.The new Fifth Edition of Viral Infections of Humans captures the both the excitement and frustration of the dynamic struggle between humankind and the viruses that continue to cause immense suffering. It presents the latest concepts, methods and technologies in epidemiology, detection, investigation, modeling and intervention. Updated and entirely new chapters by dozens of experts across the field provide analytic summaries of current knowledge of viruses and prions causing acute syndromes, chronic illnesses and/or malignancies. In sum, this ambitiously expanded volume offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective on viruses in humans, from agents of classic diseases (e.g., hepatitis, measles, polio, rabies and yellow fever), to those with greatest pandemic impact (e.g., influenza and human immunodeficiency virus), to those discovered relatively recently (e.g., henipavirus, metapneumovirus and norovirus).The new Fifth Edition of Viral Infections of Humans is an invaluable reference for students, fellows and established professionals in the fields of microbiology, public health and infectious disease epidemiology, medicine and health policy.

Pulmonary physicians and scientists currently have minimal capacity to respond to climate change and its impacts on health. The extent to which climate change influences the prevalence and incidence of respiratory morbidity remains largely undefined. However, evidence is increasing that climate change does drive respiratory disease onset and exacerbation as a result of increased ambient and indoor air pollution, desertification, heat stress, wildfires, and the geographic and temporal spread of pollens, molds and infectious agents. Preliminary research has revealed climate change to have potentially direct and indirect adverse impacts on respiratory health. Published studies have linked climate change to increases in respiratory disease, including the following: changing pollen releases impacting asthma and allergic rhinitis, heat waves causing critical care-related diseases, climate driven air pollution increases, exacerbating asthma and COPD, desertification increasing particulatematter (PM) exposures, and climate related changes in food and water security impacting infectious respiratory disease through malnutrition (pneumonia, upper respiratory infections). High level ozone and ozone exposure has been linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infection. Global Climate Change and Public Health is an important new volume based on the research, findings, and discussions of US and international experts on respiratory health and climate change. This volume addresses issues of major importance to respiratory health and fills a major gap in the current literature. The ATS Climate Change and Respiratory Health Workshop was held in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 15, 2010. The purpose of the meeting was to address the threat to global respiratory health posed by climate change. The workshop was attended by domestic and international experts as well as representatives of international respiratory societies and key US federal agencies. Dr. Pinkerton and Dr. Rom, the editors of this title, were co-chairs of the Climate Change Workshop and Symposium.

Mir S. Mulla joined the faculty of the Entomology Department at the University of California, Riverside in 1956, only two years after the Riverside campus was established as an independent campus within the University of California system. Prior to his appointment, Mir received his B.S. from Cornell University and then moved to the University of California, Berkeley to pursue his graduate studies. His Ph.D. from Berkeley, awarded in 1955, completed his formal American education which was the purpose of his immigration from his native Kandahar in Afghanistan. In his over 50 years at Riverside, Mir has made an incalculable impact on vector biology both within the United States and in developing countries throughout the world. Within Southern California, Mir's basic and applied research led to the rapid and sustainable control of mosquitoes and eye gnats in the Coachella Valley and so directly enabled this region to grow to the thriving, large community it is today. In 2006 his efforts in facilitating the development of the low desert of southern California were recognized through the dedication of the Mir S. Mulla Biological Control Facility by the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District. His success has been so profound that it remains somewhat cryptic to the many who now reside in, visit, and enjoy, this region of California, oblivious to the insect problems that severely restrained development until Mir and his students?rst applied their expertise many decades ago.

Recent years have seen unprecedented outbreaks of avian influenza A viruses. In particular, highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses have not only resulted in widespread outbreaks in domestic poultry, but have been transmitted to humans, resulting in numerous fatalities. The rapid expansion in their geographic distribution and the possibility that these viruses could acquire the ability to spread from person to person raises the risk that such a virus could cause a global pandemic with high morbidity and mortality. An effective influenza vaccine represents the best approach to prevent and control such an emerging pandemic. However, current influenza vaccines are directed at existing seasonal influenza viruses, which have little or no antigenic relationship to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strains. Concerns about pandemic preparedness have greatly stimulated research activities to develop eff- tive vaccines for pandemic influenza viruses, and to overcome the limitations inh- ent in current approaches to vaccine production and distribution. These limitations include the use of embryonated chicken eggs as the substrate for vaccine prod- tion, which is time-consuming and could involve potential biohazards in growth of new virus strains. Other limitations include the requirement that the current inac- vated influenza vaccines be administered using needles and syringes, requiring trained personnel, which could be a bottleneck when attempting to vaccinate large populations in mass campaigns. In addition, the current inactivated vaccines that are delivered by injection elicit limited protective immunity in the upper respiratory tract where the infection process is initiated.

Southeast Asia has been the breeding ground for many emerging diseases in the past decade, e.g. the avian flu (H5N1) in Hong Kong in 1997, Nipah virus encephalitis in Malaysia in 1998, and, above all, the SARS outbreak in Southern China in 2002. Risk factors contributing to this situation include being economically disadvantaged, sub-standard health care, changes in ecosystems, poor farming practices, but also increasing global travel and tourism. Currently, H5N1 is considered one of the greatest dangers to humans due to its wide host range, rapid mutation rate and increasing virulence - a global pandemic seems almost unavoidable. In this book, leading experts discuss the threat posed by emerging viruses and describe ongoing efforts to face future outbreaks by searching for new antivirals, developing new vaccines, and improving methods of diagnosis and surveillance. Viruses under consideration include SARS coronavirus, avian influenza virus H5N1, henipaviruses, Ross River virus, and viruses causing diseases in fish and shrimp. Because of a lack of infrastructure and trained manpower in Southeast Asia, these countries depend on international collaboration, funding and technical assistance to strengthen regional expertise in their fight against emerging diseases. Primarily aimed at scientists and medical doctors, this book will also be of interest to policy makers, governmental and non-governmental organizations and anyone who is concerned with public health and epidemiology.

Infectious diseases are an ever present threat to humans. In recent years, the threat of these emerging viruses has been greater than ever before in human history, due in large part to global travel by larger numbers of people, and to a lesser extent to disruptions in the interface between developed and undeveloped areas. The emergence of new deadly viruses in human populations during recent decades has confirmed this risk. They remain the third leading cause of deaths in the US and the second world-wide. Emerging Viruses in Human Populations provides a comprehensive review of viruses that are emerging or that threaten to emerge among human populations in the twenty-first century. It discusses the apprehension over emerging viruses that has intensified due to concerns about bioterrorism.• Presents the history of emerging viruses • Includes chapters on SARS, Pandemic Threat of Avian Influenza Viruses, West Nile Virus, Monkeypox Virus, Hantavirus, Nipah Virus and Hendra Virus, Japanese Encephalitis Virus, Dengue and Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses • Discusses surveillance for newly emerging diseases

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 and 2003 challenged the global public health community to confront a novel epidemic that spread rapidly from its origins in southern China until it had reached more than 25 other countries within a matter of months. In addition to the number of patients infected with the SARS virus, the disease had profound economic and political repercussions in many of the affected regions. Recent reports of isolated new SARS cases and a fear that the disease could reemerge and spread have put public health officials on high alert for any indications of possible new outbreaks. This report examines the response to SARS by public health systems in individual countries, the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals, the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic, quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases, and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS. The report provides an illuminating survey of findings from the epidemic, along with an assessment of what might be needed in order to contain any future outbreaks of SARS or other emerging infections.