Emerging Infectious Diseases are:

Infectious diseases whose incidence in humans has increased in the past 2 decades or threatens to increase in the near future. These diseases include

• 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 ecologic transformation
• Old infections reemerging as a result of antimicrobial resistance in known agents or breakdowns in public health measures.

From the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases

It has been estimated that 73% of emerging infectious diseases in humans are due to zoonotic pathogens. In recent years, new diagnostic techniques have empowered researchers to better understand such diseases. At this Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases we will employ the latest laboratory technologies, advanced epidemiological methods, and clinical evaluations to better understanding emerging infectious diseases.

This Center is comprised of epidemiologists, physicians, veterinarians, microbiologists, virologists, statisticians, laboratory technologists, laboratory technicians, undergraduate students, and graduate students from the University of Iowa as well as their collaborators from other organizations.