The concept of emerging infectious disease revisited

Abstract

Purpose – To analyze the concept of emerging infectious diseases, departing from the accepted definitions adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) and the now classical definition suggested by Grmek (1993, 1995). The emphasis of this chapter is on the roles that socio-economic and cultural changes play on the emergence of diseases.

Methodology – Bibliographical research.

Findings – Current definitions fail to address all instances of the emergence of disease. In order to illustrate the concept of emergence, we discuss two case studies. The first describes the constitution of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in Costa Rica. The second concerns an outbreak of Chagas disease that took place in 2005 in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Contribution – As a result of our analyses we propose a new classification of instances of emergence and emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach for the understanding of diseases.

Citation

Grisotti, M. and Dias de Avila-Pires, F. (2010), "The concept of emerging infectious disease revisited", Mukherjea, A. (Ed.) Understanding Emerging Epidemics: Social and Political Approaches (Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol. 11), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 61-75. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-6290(2010)0000011008