Corresponding Author: Eamon B. O’Dea, odea35@gmail.com An important component of predicting disease emergence is the ability to assess the distance to epidemic thresholds, the critical number of susceptible hosts needed for an epidemic to occur. Monitoring this threshold allows researchers to confirm the emergence of an epidemic and take action […]
Corresponding Author: Andreas Handel, andreas.handel@gmail.com For infectious diseases, especially diseases that are spread from person to person by droplets in the air produced by coughing or sneezing, determining the contact rate and tracing the contact network provides important information for implementing effective health interventions. One such disease, tuberculosis (TB), is […]
Corresponding Author: Pejman Rohani; Rohani@uga.edu After implementing routine vaccination in the 1940s, the United States witnessed a 100-fold reduction in pertussis cases, also known as whooping cough, leaving most to believe the disease to be essentially eliminated. However, this respiratory disease has made a surprising comeback, with a startling 48,277 reported […]
Corresponding authors: John Vinson, vinsonje@uga.edu; John Drake, john@drakeresearchlab.com Accurate species counts, as well as estimates of the number of undescribed species for a given ecosystem, are important for implementing effective conservation strategies across the globe. Since it is impossible to get a direct, total count of all species on Earth, […]
Corresponding Author: Courtney Murdock, cmurdock@uga.edu For the past 65 years, the Zika virus has regularly circulated throughout Africa and Southeast Asia, resulting in mild, sporadic cases. It wasn’t until the 2015 – 2016 Zika epidemic in the Americas that researchers shifted their attention to this flavivirus, which was linked to […]
Corresponding Authors: Andrew Park, awpark@uga.edu; J. P. Schmidt, jps@uga.edu; John Drake, john@drakeresearchlab.com; Patrick Stephens, prsteph@uga.edu Generalist parasites are parasites that can infect many different hosts, allowing them to impact a wide range of animals and potentially facilitate disease emergence in new hosts. While this poses a threat for biodiversity conservation and public health, understanding […]
Corresponding author: Steven E Bellan; steve.bellan@uga.edu Summary author: Clarissa Keisling, ceid@uga.edu One of the most effective ways to prevent epidemics of emerging pathogens is by vaccination. However, quickly preparing effective, ethical vaccines in response to emerging diseases is difficult, as illustrated by the 2014-2016 Ebola virus and 2015-2016 Zika virus […]
Corresponding authors: Claire S. Teitelbaum, cteitelbaum@uga.edu; Richard J. Hall, dr.richard.hall@gmail.com; Sonia Altizer, saltizer@uga.edu Summary Author: Clarissa Keisling, ceid@uga.edu Ungulates, or hoofed animals, are found all over the world and display a variety of movement behaviors, such as seasonal migration, nomadism, and range residency. Disease ecologists predict that these movements can either increase their exposure […]
Corresponding Authors: Daniel J. Becker, daniel.becker88@gmail.com; Richard J. Hall, dr.richard.hall@gmail.com; Sonia Altizer, saltizer@uga.edu Summary Author: Clarissa Keisling Photo Credit: Richard Hall Ecological and environmental research frequently reports on the negative anthropogenic effects on wildlife, with habitat loss and destruction as a major focus. However, human activities including agriculture, urbanization, and supplemental feeding can alternatively […]
Corresponding author: Michelle V. Evans, mvevans@uga.edu While vector-borne diseases have long been a major public health issue, the rate at which new diseases are emerging is increasing dramatically, making it difficult for researchers to keep up with effective vaccines and prevention protocols. Gaps in our current understanding of disease emergence also […]
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