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Infection

Infection

When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
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Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence

Infectious Diseases and Their Occurrence

Infectious diseases appear in populations through various transmission patterns, influenced by pathogen characteristics, population immunity, environmental conditions, and social behavior. Understanding these patterns is essential for effective public health surveillance and intervention. These categories—sporadic, outbreak, epidemic, pandemic, and endemic—help frame the nature and scope of disease events.Sporadic diseases occur irregularly and infrequently, without a predictable temporal or...

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Related Experiment Video

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Growing a Cystic Fibrosis-Relevant Polymicrobial Biofilm to Probe Community Phenotypes

Growing a Cystic Fibrosis-Relevant Polymicrobial Biofilm to Probe Community Phenotypes

Published on: April 19, 2024

Emerging infections: a perpetual challenge.

David M Morens¹, Gregory K Folkers, Anthony S Fauci

¹National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. dm270q@nih.gov

The Lancet. Infectious Diseases

|November 11, 2008

Summary

Emerging infectious diseases are not new, with fundamental determinants driving their occurrence throughout history. Understanding these drivers is crucial for addressing future disease challenges.

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Area of Science:

Epidemiology
Infectious Disease Dynamics
Public Health

Background:

Recent attention on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, SARS, H5N1 avian influenza) due to their significant impact.
Increasing documentation of common co-determinants of disease emergence, such as population growth, travel, and environmental disruption.
The question of whether emerging infections are a novel phenomenon linked to modern life or driven by timeless factors.

Observation:

Historical analysis of notable epidemics reveals recurring patterns in disease emergence.
Emerging diseases throughout history share similarities in novelty, impact, and societal response.
Fundamental determinants, often acting in concert, appear to underlie disease generation across different eras.

Findings:

Emerging infectious diseases represent a recurring challenge throughout human history, not solely a modern phenomenon.
Timeless, fundamental determinants, interacting with each other, are key drivers of disease emergence.
The patterns of disease emergence and societal responses have remained consistent over time.

Implications:

Historical perspective is essential for understanding and preparing for contemporary and future infectious disease threats.
Addressing fundamental determinants is critical for long-term strategies to mitigate the impact of emerging infections.
Infectious diseases will likely continue to pose significant challenges to human survival, necessitating ongoing vigilance and research.