Economics and the Human-Animal Equation

What type of pandemic infection causes the most economic damage? The SARS experience taught us that a mysterious, rapidly spreading, and potentially fatal respiratory infection can trigger a short, sharp, severe economic shock that has longer term consequences. Though less than 900 people died...

Virus Vectors

What is a vector? In the context of virus and other infections, a vector is an insect carrier of disease. What we’re talking about here are living needles in the grass, like ticks, and flying needles, like mosquitoes. One of the major U.S. tire...

Pandemics, Epidemics, and Outbreaks

What is the exact definition of pandemic? A novel infection—new and previously unconfronted—that spreads globally and results in a high incidence of morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death) has, for the past 300 years or more, been described as a “pandemic.” The word derives from...

Infection and Immunity

This chapter focuses on some key points and terminology that will hopefully give those who are unfamiliar with the science of infectious disease just enough information to understand what follows, or any public discussion of pandemics. But don’t expect too much, either of yourself...

Single-Host Human Pathogens

Is an infection that is already widespread in humans likely to cause a pandemic? As discussed previously, that really gets down to a matter of terminology. The influenza A viruses that emerge as a consequence of genetic reassortment, perhaps between viruses circulating in us...

HIV/AIDS

Is HIV still a concern? That depends a lot on how and where we live. The current situation for HIV is a bit like that discussed above for the HepC virus in that, while HIV is active in every nation on the planet, the...

Mad Cows and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Has there ever been a mad cow or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease pandemic? No, but it is worth reminding ourselves of these “scary monsters” as we think about novel pandemic threats. What we’re discussing here is the link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow...

The Sars Warning

Why was SARS so scary? The problem with the 2002 outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, was that it hit suddenly and people were dying horribly while both the cause and the principal mode of spread were unknown. Then, the epidemiology...

Conclusions

The following summarizes key points and provides short comments on a few issues that come up in any discussion of global infectious disease. Modern air travel links us all in a very immediate, physical way. Any pathogen that spreads readily from human to human...

Protecting Humanity from and During Pandemics

Is there anything that I can do personally to limit the possibility of a dangerous pandemic? While pandemics are by their nature unpredictable, there are some things worth considering when it comes to the issue of personal safety and responsibility. The first point is...