Emerging Infectious Diseases: Public Health Issues for the 21st Century

Science ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 284 (5418) ◽  
pp. 1311-1313 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Binder
2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (S1) ◽  
pp. S5-S10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noel W. Solomons

The original Scrimshaw, Taylor and Gordon conceptual framework for the interaction of nutrition and infection has well served the scientific community for almost half a century. At its core is the notion of synergistic (mutually reinforcing) and antagonistic (mutually nullifying) influences of the malnourished state on infectious conditions and vice versa. Research on a series of advancing fronts, however, has allowed the incorporation of both relevant public health issues (parasitosis, emerging infectious diseases, obesity and overweight, etc.) and advancing science (molecular immunology, oxidation biology, multiple micronutrient deficiencies, etc.). The present review is an interpretative update on close to 50 years of demographic and epidemiological evolution in the field of human nutrition and the implications for the interaction in the context of microbiological and immunological developments on the infectious side of the dialectic.


Author(s):  
Nicholas Evans ◽  
Thomas Inglesby

This chapter introduces ethical issues that arise in the context of biosecurity: policies and actions intended to prevent the development or emergence, or mitigate the consequences, of serious biological threats. These threats could include deliberate biological weapon attacks (bioterrorism), pandemics, emerging infectious diseases, or major laboratory accidents. The basic values that underpin these public health concerns are first introduced. Ethical issues that arise before, during, and following a biosecurity crisis are then examined, including issues of resource allocation, dual-use research, and the possibility of quarantine. Their resolution requires trade-offs among different ethical values, including utility, fairness, and liberty.


Eye ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashwin Venkatesh ◽  
Ravi Patel ◽  
Simran Goyal ◽  
Timothy Rajaratnam ◽  
Anant Sharma ◽  
...  

AbstractEmerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are an increasing threat to public health on a global scale. In recent times, the most prominent outbreaks have constituted RNA viruses, spreading via droplets (COVID-19 and Influenza A H1N1), directly between humans (Ebola and Marburg), via arthropod vectors (Dengue, Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, Crimean Congo) and zoonotically (Lassa fever, Nipah, Rift Valley fever, Hantaviruses). However, specific approved antiviral therapies and vaccine availability are scarce, and public health measures remain critical. Patients can present with a spectrum of ocular manifestations. Emerging infectious diseases should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of ocular inflammatory conditions in patients inhabiting or returning from endemic territories, and more general vigilance is advisable in the context of a global pandemic. Eye specialists are in a position to facilitate swift diagnosis, improve clinical outcomes, and contribute to wider public health efforts during outbreaks. This article reviews those emerging viral diseases associated with reports of ocular manifestations and summarizes details pertinent to practicing eye specialists.


Author(s):  
Li-Chien Chien ◽  
Christian K. Beÿ ◽  
Kristi L. Koenig

ABSTRACT The authors describe Taiwan’s successful strategy in achieving control of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) without economic shutdown, despite the prediction that millions of infections would be imported from travelers returning from Chinese New Year celebrations in Mainland China in early 2020. As of September 2, 2020, Taiwan reports 489 cases, 7 deaths, and no locally acquired COVID-19 cases for the last 135 days (greater than 4 months) in its population of over 23.8 million people. Taiwan created quasi population immunity through the application of established public health principles. These non-pharmaceutical interventions, including public masking and social distancing, coupled with early and aggressive identification, isolation, and contact tracing to inhibit local transmission, represent a model for optimal public health management of COVID-19 and future emerging infectious diseases.


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