In October 1999, the Forum on Emerging Infections of the Institute of Medicine convened a two-day workshop titled "International Aspects of Emerging Infections." Key representatives from the international community explored the forces that drive emerging infectious diseases to prominence. Representatives from the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe made formal presentations and engaged in panel discussions. Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Global to the Local Perspective includes summaries of the formal presentations and suggests an agenda for future action. The topics addressed cover a wide range of issues, including trends in the incidence of infectious diseases around the world, descriptions of the wide variety of factors that contribute to the emergence and reemergence of these diseases, efforts to coordinate surveillance activities and responses within and across borders, and the resource, research, and international needs that remain to be addressed.

Early detection is essential to the control of emerging, reemerging, and novel infectious diseases, whether naturally occurring or intentionally introduced. Containing the spread of such diseases in a profoundly interconnected world requires active vigilance for signs of an outbreak, rapid recognition of its presence, and diagnosis of its microbial cause, in addition to strategies and resources for an appropriate and efficient response. Although these actions are often viewed in terms of human public health, they also challenge the plant and animal health communities. Surveillance, defined as "the continual scrutiny of all aspects of occurrence and spread of a disease that are pertinent to effective control", involves the "systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data." Disease detection and diagnosis is the act of discovering a novel, emerging, or reemerging disease or disease event and identifying its cause. Diagnosis is "the cornerstone of effective disease control and prevention efforts, including surveillance." Disease surveillance and detection relies heavily on the astute individual: the clinician, veterinarian, plant pathologist, farmer, livestock manager, or agricultural extension agent who notices something unusual, atypical, or suspicious and brings this discovery in a timely way to the attention of an appropriate representative of human public health, veterinary medicine, or agriculture. Most developed countries have the ability to detect and diagnose human, animal, and plant diseases. Global Infectious Disease Surveillance and Detection: Assessing the Challenges-Finding Solutions, Workshop Summary is part of a 10 book series and summarizes the recommendations and presentations of the workshop.

Infectious diseases remain a leading cause of prolonged illness, premature mortality, and soaring health costs. In the United States in 1995, infectious diseases were the third leading cause of death, right behind heart disease and cancer. Mortality is mounting over time, owing to HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, and septicemia, with drug resistance playing an ever-increasing role in each of these disease categories. This book, a report from a Forum on Emerging Infections workshop, focuses on product areas where returns from the market might be perceived as being too small or too complicated by other factors to compete in industrial portfolios with other demands for investment. Vaccines are quintessential examples of such products. The lessons learned fall into four areas, including what makes intersectoral collaboration a reality, the notion of a product life cycle, the implications of divergent sectoral mandates and concepts of risk, and the roles of advocacy and public education. The summary contains an examination of the Children's Vaccine Initiative and other models, an industry perspective on the emerging infections agenda, and legal and regulatory issues.

Infectious diseases have plagued man throughout history. In the era of modern medicine antibiotics and vaccines brought the hope of liberation from the great scourges of smallpox, polio, and tuberculosis. Yet, in the ensuing decades as we hoped to close the book on infectious diseases, we have instead been confronted by wave upon wave of new assailants. AIDS, SARS, pandemic influenza, and multi-drug resistant bacteria demonstrated how our technological advances have either fallen short in halting or even enhanced the spread of emerging pathogens. International air travel has collapsed geographic boundaries that once confined tropical infections to distant latitudes. Novel forms of immunosuppression, advances in organ transplantation, and victories in the cancer wars have led to an ever-expanding population at risk for opportunistic infections. In this collection of illustrated cases we give a cross-sectional view of the growing challenges that face the infectious diseases consultant. The modern physician is empowered by high resolution imaging and molecular diagnostic techniques that confer diagnostic capabilities Osler could have only dreamed of. Nevertheless we continue to grapple with the timeless struggles illuminated by Pasteur, Koch, and Fleming between man and the microscopic organisms of the world. Part of the new Oxford American Infectious Disease Library series, this book of illustrative cases will appeal to anyone working in a busy infectious diseases consultation service or practice including students, residents, fellows, faculty and other ID practitioners. Featuring numerous high-quality images and illustrations guiding diagnosis and case discussion, the handbook is meant to serve as a highly practical guide covering current approaches and new developments in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of a cross section of infectious diseases, including community-acquired and healthcare-associated infections.

Emerging and re-emerging pathogens pose several challenges to diagnosis, treatment, and public health surveillance, primarily because pathogen identification is a difficult and time-consuming process due to the “novel” nature of the agent. Proper identification requires a wide array of techniques, but the significance of these diagnostics is anticipated to increase with advances in newer molecular and nanobiotechnological interventions and health information technology. Human Emerging and Re-emerging Infections covers the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnostics, clinical features, and public health risks posed by new viral and microbial infections. The book includes detailed coverage on the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis, development of various diagnostic tools, diagnostic assays and their limitations, key research priorities, and new technologies in infection diagnostics. Volume 1 addresses viral and parasitic infections, while volume 2 delves into bacterial and mycotic infections. Human Emerging and Re-emerging Infections is an invaluable resource for researchers in parasitologists, microbiology, Immunology, neurology and virology, as well as clinicians and students interested in understanding the current knowledge and future directions of infectious diseases.