Emerging Infections in Asia (eBook)

Max Essex, Yichen Lu, Bryan Roberts (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2008 | 1. Auflage
268 Seiten
Springer US (Verlag)
978-0-387-75722-3 (ISBN)

Infos

With many Asian countries experiencing increasing economic growth and globalization, infectious diseases that were once contained in certain pockets of the continent now proliferate throughout the continent. The recently publicized outbreaks of SARS, avian flu, and influenza are but a few examples of the growing number of mass infections affecting the Asian populace. Increased travel and tourism worldwide potentially expands the reach of these infectious diseases to a global scale. There is a pressing need for public health professionals worldwide to know and understand the variety of these infections, the methods through which they are transmitted, and the ways to control and prevent them.

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The number of people who live in Asia is greater than the total number of people who live in the rest of the world. More than 160 cities in Asia have a population of at least one million people. Thus, when new infectious diseases threaten popu- tions in Asia, huge segments of the global population are at risk. At the same time, Asians are thoroughly integrated with the rest of the world, providing skilled exp- tise and becoming trading partners in all continents. Infectious diseases ordinarily show no preference for infection or disease according to race or ethnic background. A few exceptions exist, due to the host- pathogen evolution that happened before the recent era of rapid travel. Such exc- tions occur usually because the infectious agent was newly introduced to one population only after having existed and evolved for hundreds or thousands of years in a different population. As air travel became popular in the last few generations of people, it became increasingly difficult for populations to remain in isolation. Thus, in 2003, SARS in China rapidly became SARS in Canada. Throughout history, a major source of new infections of people has been old infections of animals. For some, such as Ebola or Lassa, transmission to people is rare and self-limiting, though frighteningly lethal for the few unfortunate indivi- als who get infected. And Ebola and Lassa are indigenous for Africa, not Asia.

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.3.2008
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Studium ► Querschnittsbereiche ► Prävention / Gesundheitsförderung
• ISBN-10: 0-387-75722-8 / 0387757228
• ISBN-13: 978-0-387-75722-3 / 9780387757223