Emerging Infectious Diseases from the Global to the Local Perspective: A Summary of a Workshop of the Forum on Emerging Infections

Excerpt

In October 1999, the Forum on Emerging Infections of the Institute of Medicine convened a 2-day workshop titled “International Aspects of Emerging Infections.” Key representatives from the international community explored the forces that drive emerging infectious diseases to prominence. Representatives from the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe made formal presentations and engaged in panel discussions. Summaries of the formal presentations can be found in Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 through Chapter 5 of this report. The topics addressed during this conference cover a wide range of issues, including trends in the incidence of infectious diseases around the world, descriptions of the wide variety of factors that contribute to the emergence and reemergence of these diseases, efforts to coordinate surveillance activities and responses within and across borders, and the resource, research, and international needs that remain to be addressed.