Emerging infectious diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging infectious diseases (ɪˈmɜːrdʒɪŋ ɪnˈfɛkʃəs dɪˈziːzɪz) are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future. Emerging infections can be caused by:

Previously undetected or unknown infectious agents
Known agents that have spread to new geographic locations or new populations
Previously known agents whose role in specific diseases has previously gone unrecognized.
Re-emergence of agents whose incidence of disease had significantly declined in the past, but whose incidence of disease has reappeared. This class of diseases is known as re-emerging infectious diseases.

Etymology

The term "emerging infectious disease" was coined in the 1990s, amidst a growing realization that infectious diseases were not a thing of the past, but a continuing and serious threat to humanity. The term "emerging" refers to diseases that are newly appearing in a population or have existed but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range.

Related Terms

Pandemic: A disease prevalent over a whole country or the world.
Epidemic: A widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time.
Endemic: Regularly found among particular people or in a certain area.
Zoonotic Diseases: Diseases that can be passed from animals to humans.
Re-emerging Infectious Diseases: Diseases that were once major health problems globally or in a particular country, and then declined dramatically, but are again becoming health problems for a significant proportion of the population.

Emerging infectious diseases

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