Emerging Zoonoses

emerging and re-emerging zoonoses

Emerging zoonoses.

In the past few years, emergent disease episodes have increased; nearly all have involved zoonotic or species-jumping infectious agents. Because there is no way to predict when or where the next important new zoonotic pathogen will emerge or what its ultimate importance might be, investigation at the first sign of emergence of a new zoonotic disease is particularly important. Such investigation...

Emerging zoonoses.

Zoonotic pathogens cause infections in animals and are also transmissible to humans; knowledge of the extrahuman reservoirs of these pathogens is thus essential for understanding the epidemiology and potential control of human disease. Zoonotic diseases are typically endemic and occur in natural foci. However, ecologic change and meteorologic or climatic events can promote epidemic expansion of...

Emerging helminth zoonoses.

As our ability to recognise and diagnose human disease caused by helminth parasites has improved, so our understanding of the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of these diseases has improved. Humans can develop patent infection with a wide range of helminth parasites, whose natural host is another vertebrate. Rather than focusing on a comprehensive review of zoonotic helminth infections,...

Virchow Revisited: Emerging Zoonoses

T he German physician Rudolf Virchow (1821–1905) was studying Trichinella in 1855 when he coined the term “zoonosis.” His work on this disease helped to convince him of the importance of linking human and veterinary medicine, something he emphasized throughout his career. Although Virchow is more widely heralded for his cell theory of disease, perhaps his concept of one medicine will become his...