Nama : Khoirus Viestaria

NIM : 135130101111035

Kelas : 2013/C

Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases

2005 Robert H Ebert

According to the World Health Organization’s 2004 World Health Report,

infectious diseases accounted for about 26 percent of the 57 million deaths
worldwide. An emerging disease is defined as a new infection resulting from the
evolution or change of an existing pathogen or parasite resulting in a change of
host range, vector, pathogenicity or strain; or the occurrence of a previously
unrecognised infection or disease. HIV/AIDS is a newly emerging disease, as is
severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), Nipah virus encephalitis, and variant
Creutzfeld-Jakob disease (vCJD). A re-emerging disease is considered an already
known disease that either shifts its geographical setting or expands its host range,
or significantly increases its prevalence. The rapid detection and response to an
emerging or re-emerging disease is crucial. From the time this new disease
develops until it is detected. The rapid detection of such a new epidemiological
event is therefore a key element for all policies to be developed.
 Re-emerging or resurging diseases are those that have been around for
decades or centuries, but have come back in a different form or a different
location. Examples are West Nile virus in the Western hemisphere, monkeypox in
the United States, and dengue rebounding in Brazil. Deliberately emerging
diseases are those that are intentionally introduced. These are agents of bioterror,
the most recent and important example of which is anthrax.

Multiple factors, including economic development and land use, human

demographics and behavior, and international travel and commerce, contribute to
the emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases and approximately 75
percent of emerging pathogens are zoonotic. Avian influenza, monkeypox,
Nipah, SARS, and Ebola are all the result, to a greater or lesser extent, of
interactions with animals that led to the emergence and re-emergence of deadly
diseases.

Basic Research

Fundamental research underlies almost everything we do in studying and

responding to infectious diseases. Developments in molecular and genetic
epidemiology are helping us understand pathogen virulence, transmission
patterns, and host susceptibility. This is particularly important in HIV/AIDS and
avian influenza because we can trace the evolution of different viral subtypes
across continents.