Global rise in total human infectious disease outbreaks: Research on emerging patterns, per-capita declines

The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa has dramatically raised awareness of the global burden of infectious disease and raised questions about the preparedness of public health systems. Although non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in most developed nations, infectious disease remains a major public health concern in the United States and around the world. Defining and examining the global distribution of infectious disease, in both time and location, is a major research priority. These “spatio-temporal patterns” allow researchers to examine how and why infectious disease does or does not spread. Three terms are used in epidemiology — the study of the spread, causes and consequences of disease — to describe disease distribution: Epidemic: A widespread increase in the observed rates of disease in a given population. Diseases such as mumps, measles and cholera can become epidemics, depending on a range of factors. Endemic: A consistently heightened rate of disease...