An emerging disease is a new disease, usually caused by an infectious agent, that surfaces and spreads within the human population. The term may also apply to other older diseases, or diseases that have all but disappeared and subsequently re-emerge or colonise other geographical regions following environmental changes.

Two programmes
Now more than ever before, infectious diseases represent a considerable public health issue and could lead to potentially serious economic consequences.
In the face of the threat posed by emerging diseases, the European Union is supporting two large-scale research programmes: PREDEMICS and ANTIGONE.

Prevention strategies
PREDEMICS unites 17 partners, studying four types of viruses from the animal reservoir that have a high potential for human transmission in Europe: influenza, hepatitis E, rabies, Japanese encephalitis and associated flaviviruses. Its primary objective is to reinforce our understanding of the complex mechanisms governing host-virus relationships and define the major stages in disease emergence in order to improve the prevention strategies to be put in place.

Predict pandemics
ANTIGONE unites 14 partners, and aims to determine the factors involved in the threat posed by pathogens originating in the animal world. The teams involved are particularly interested in the mechanisms by which viruses and bacteria cross the species barrier and spread to humans. The results of this knowledge will improve our ability to predict potential human pandemics of zoonotic origin and to develop timely preventive measures.

Dromedary camels
The PREDEMICS and ANTIGONE programmes are particularly active in areas concerning the understanding of emerging pathogens. For example, in a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Dutch scientists from the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment managed to identify the animal most likely to be responsible for the current MERS-CoV outbreak. By means of serological tests carried out on a variety of livestock from several different countries, scientists found anti-MERS-CoV antibodies in dromedary camels in Saudi Arabia's neighbouring country of Oman. This discovery strongly suggests that the MERS-CoV virus circulates in dromedary camels and is then transmitted to humans.

First step
In another example, in a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, scientists at the University of Münster, in Germany, and the University of Košice, in Slovakia, analysed the current epidemiological status of a highly virulent strain of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli. known as O26:H11; it is responsible for numerous cases of kidney disease in young children. The scientists concluded that this strain is rapidly developing in Europe and represents a threat to public health. Recognising the emergence of the disease is the first step in the implementation of strategies to fight this bacterium.

Read the press release on the website of Institut Pasteur.