Over the recent past, there has been an emergence of various infectious diseases that issue a threat to the overall population despite their age, sex or lifestyle (Cockburn 1963). According to a research study by (Jernigan, Raghunathan& Bell, 2002), some of the emerging diseases are either caused by infectious methods that had not been discovered; hence, spreading of these agents to other locations, or the return of agents that had previously disappeared. The infections that return after they had previously disappeared are referred to as re-emerging diseases. The study further states that the emergence of these infections is also caused by deliberate development by humans for terrorism. Some of the emerging infections over the recent past include SARS, Swine flu, avian flu, Ebola and HIV / AIDS (Cockburn 1963).
A study by Hirschberg, Montagne & Fauci (2004) indicates that one of the factors that cause the emergence of these diseases include processes that occur in nature. Nevertheless, most of these illnesses are due to human activities and daily interactions. Some of these human activities include an increase in population, relocation from rural to urban areas, conflicts, terrorism and destructive use of natural resources. The emerging disease is first introduced to the susceptible population then through interaction, the disease is spread amongst individuals, thus it is easily sustained in the population infecting more and more people (Yang & Kim 2005).
Some of the diseases are spread when the agents are passed on from animals to humans through a process referred to as zoonosis. Zoonosis mainly occurs when the human population increases and in turn occupies new environments, thus increasing the contact between humans and animals. This factor acts as a serious threat to humans being infected.
According to the study by Ungchusak, Auewarakul & Dowell (2005), one of the infectious diseases whose spreading and transmission has been caused by human activities through close interactions with chimpanzees is HIV/ AIDS. This was through the hunting of bushmeat in Africa. The infectious disease was then further spread across the world through sexual transmission, blood transfer, breastfeeding and infectious drug use.
An emerging disease that emerged due to natural and human activities is influenza (flu). This infection is frequently transferred between humans and agricultural animals. These animals which include ducks and pigs mostly act as the host for the influenza virus. The avian flu emerged more than 10 years ago in birds (Ungchusak, Auewarakul & Dowell 2005). However, it has not been directly passed to humans as the H1N1 (swine flu) which is transmitted to humans from pigs in 2009.
Another cause of the re-emergence of this disease is the use of antibiotic drugs to resist pathogens. As the patient uses these antibiotics, the bacteria and viruses causing the disease frequently change and become resistant to the antibiotics. As a result, the antibiotic becomes ineffective in treating the disease (Yang & Kim 2005). The climatic factor also contributes to the emergence of diseases. Changes in climate as a result of global warming causes the spread of tropical diseases.
This happened in Italy during the 2007 late summer where it caused a virus referred to as the chikungunya virus. To prepare for the unexpected emergence of these infections, strategies have been laid to address these infections where individuals, countries and groups come together to come up with effective measures (Hirschberg, Montagne & Fauci 2004).
References
Cockburn, T 1963, The Evolution and Eradication of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Hirschberg, R, Montagne, J & Fauci, S 2004, ‘Biomedical Research—an Integral Component of National Security’, New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 21 no. 85, pp. 1089- 2112.
Jernigan, D, Raghunathan, P & Bell, P 2002, ‘Investigation of Bioterrorism-Related Anthrax, United States’, Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 8 no. 28, pp. 1019-1117.
Ungchusak, K, Auewarakul, P &Dowell, F 2005, ‘Probable Person-to-Person Transmission of Avian Influenza A (H5N1)’, New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 10 no. 40, pp. 333-352.
Yang, H, & Kim, M 2005, ‘Antiviral Chemotherapy Facilitates Control of Poxvirus Infections through Inhibition of Cellular Signal Transduction’, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, vol. 115 no. 379, pp. 87- 462.