Emerging and Remerging Infectious Disease: A Global Challenge
Liberty University

Emerging and Remerging Infectious Disease: A Global Challenge
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases is a danger to the stability of nations and the world. Governments, international organizations and individual health professions have renewed their focus on current health care policies in an effort to reduce the threat of emerging infectious diseases (Simmerman, 2012). The basic definition of an emerging or re-emerging infectious disease is a disease whose incidence has increased in a defined time period and location. If the disease was unknown in the location before, the disease is considered to be emerging. However, if the disease had been present at the location in the past and was considered eradicated or controlled, the disease is considered to be re-emerging ("Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases," n.d.).
Some of the diseases identified as emerging and re-emerging are the Avian influenza (H5N1), West Nile virus, Monkey pox, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which an increase in outbreaks was noted in early 2003 (Simmerman, 2012). Emerging infections are caused by pathogens that are present in the environment and when these opportunistic pathogens are given the right conditions, they are able infect new host populations. Another major factor is infections that are antimicrobial drug resistant.
In order to meet the challenge of these infections healthcare providers need to contribute more to monitoring, research and training. A sustainable program fund needs to be provided in order to shape and implement policies that will improve the public health infrastructure. Healthcare facilities need to improve their preparedness for emergency situations. This is important to be done at both the regional and the national levels (Simmerman, 2012). This