Emergent Diseases in AP Biology

Definition

Emergent diseases are new infections resulting from changes or evolution of existing organisms; known infections spreading to new geographic areas or populations; previously unrecognized infections appearing in areas undergoing ecological transformation; old infections reemerging due to antimicrobial resistance in known agents or breakdowns in public health measures.

Related terms

Epidemiology: The study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why they occur. It helps us understand patterns and causes of diseases in society.

Zoonotic Diseases: These are diseases caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacterial, parasites, and fungi spread between animals and humans.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): This occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.