Molecular detection and characterization of emerging infectious diseases
By: By Gabriela Adela Farcas.
Published: 2006
Language: eng
Number of pages: 243
ISBN-13: 9780494158722
Description: The global movement of pathogenic microorganisms has recently been accelerated by dramatic increases in global travel and immigration. This increase in the dissemination of pathogens has been confounded by the increased use of anti-microbial agents and antibiotics in human and animal populations, driving the emergence and spread of drug resistance. As it was clearly illustrated by the recent SARS outbreak, the majority of travelers who contract tropical or emerging infectious diseases do not become ill until returning home. There, in the absence of appropriate disease screening and detection, they can become index cases of potentially catastrophic public health outbreaks. Accurate detection and appropriate treatment of an increasing number of "globalized" infectious diseases depends on the expertise of physicians and diagnostic expertise in laboratories in a traveler's home country.Although infectious diseases common in developed countries have been thoroughly described, and their detection and characterization is facilitated by standardised, sensitive, and specific assays that employ the latest technological advancements, a comparative dearth of such assays exists for emerging and "globalized" infectious diseases. To address this need, a re-emerging parasitic disease (malaria) and an emerging viral disease (SARS) have been used as models for which standardized pathogen detection and drug resistance characterization assays, as well as full genome molecular screening tools have been developed. The utility of these assays has been evaluated for routine use in clinical diagnostic settings.Emerging infectious diseases present new threats and pose increasingly complex challenges for healthcare systems and public health. In addition, escalating antimicrobial resistance requires close monitoring and continual technical improvements for enhanced detection and characterization. The availability of appropriate standardised assays to rapidly diagnose emerging disease have both clinical and economic benefits. Early detection and appropriate therapy result in decreased morbidity, mortality, and overall healthcare costs. Active surveillance with reliable tests permits early identification of epidemics and appropriate public health responses including the prevention of secondary spread within the community.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: B, page: 3676.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2006.

Includes bibliographic references.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.