Disease, Darwin, and medicine in the third epidemiological transition

Four Thousand Years of Concepts Relating to Rabies in Animals and Humans, Its Prevention and Its Cure

“…Humans have lived alongside domesticated dogs for 14,000 years at least, with estimates reaching back to 32,000 years [ 1 , 2 ]. They have also long been familiar with their diseases, which became more prevalent as populations and their animals congregated in the cities that arose in Mesopotamia [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. Two cuneiform tablets ( Figure 1 ) discovered at Tell Abū Harmal, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq in 1945 and 1947, recount the Laws of Eshnunna, a Sumerian and later Akkadian city-state located in present Tell Asmar, Iraq [ 7 ].…”

The Impact of Climate Change on the Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases: Global Perspective

“…Since last quarter of 20th century, there has been resurgence of infectious diseases and the world remains in transition by the fact that certain infectious diseases (AIDS, avian influenza, Ebola, Marburg, cholera, Rift Valley fever, typhoid, tuberculosis, leptospirosis, malaria, chikungunya, dengue, Japanese encephalitis) have emerged or reemerged while situations with others (guinea worm, smallpox, yaws, poliomyelitis, measles, leprosy and neonatal tetanus) have declined significantly. 3,4 Zoonoses-transmission of infectious agent from animals (wild and domestic) to humans constituted more than two-thirds of emerging infections. Contact among wild animals, domestic animals and people is another driving force involving the interaction between naïve population groups that induces the emergence of new diseases.…”

“…Member countries have consequently given the World Organization for animal health a mandate to address the issue by using its scientific capabilities and networks at global, regional and sub-regional levels with the aim of preventing or reducing the effects of climate change on animal diseases which are transmissible to humans. 4 In order to offer a multidisciplinary perspective to mitigate the problem, infectious disease specialists, epidemiologists, geneticists, microbiologists, and population biologists need to participate to address questions about the definition, the identification, the factors responsible for, and multidisciplinary approaches to emerging and reemerging infections. There is a need for surveillance at national, regional and global levels by epidemiological, laboratorybased, ecological, and anthropological approach to adapt early control measures.…”