Scientists question the designation of some emerging diseases

The Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses are commonly referred to as emerging diseases, but leading scientists say these life-threatening viruses have been around for centuries. In a perspective in the Nov. 9 issue of the journal Science, researchers including a professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) say it would be more appropriate to refer to these viruses as emerging diagnoses. “The infectious agents were identified around the middle of the 20th century but that does not mean that they were new,” said Joseph McCormick, M.D., one of the authors of the perspective and regional dean of The University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville Regional Campus, which is part of UTHealth. “Some of the viruses, including Lassa and Ebola, have been around for thousands of years.” The viruses burst onto the scene in the 1960s when outbreaks decimated areas of west and central Africa. The viruses...