Emerging diseases: the global express

The expansion of global trade has ensured that the global economy continues to improve and that political liberalization promotes changes toward democracy and enhanced world peace. However, the inherent risks due to pathogens moving from one country to another within this global trade have expanded accordingly as well. International guidelines for safe trade, promulgated by the World Trade Organization, and interpreted by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health, have undergone fast-paced changes in an effort to stay current with rapidly evolving emerging disease concerns. But serious gaps remain, and the threat of pathogens moving to new areas or emerging in new ways is considerable.