Hepatitis E was not recognized as a distinct disease until 1980, when waterborne epidemics of hepatitis in India, previously thought to have been caused by hepatitis A virus (HAV), were shown to have occurred in persons who were already immune…
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic liver disease worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, 58 million people are chronically infected with HCV worldwide, and approximately 400,000 people die each year from HCV-related liver diseases. Importantly,…
Hepatitis has been recognized as a clinical entity since antiquity, but the diversity of viruses causing the infectious form of the disease has only recently been recognized. The first evidence that a form of hepatitis was transmitted by direct inoculation…
INTRODUCTION History of Hepatitis A Disease Contagious jaundice was initially recognized independently in Europe—by the Greeks at the time of Hippocrates—and in Asia, by the Chinese ; however, the earliest recorded outbreaks of jaundice that appear epidemiologically to have been…
INTRODUCTION Prior to use of vaccination, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, largely due to its role in causing pneumonia and meningitis in those younger than 2 years of age. In 2000 alone,…
Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that infects at least 90% of the world’s population. EBV causes infectious mononucleosis, which can result in significant loss of time from school or work in developed countries. In addition, EBV is…
## Enteroviruses (EVs), which have been classified into four species (A, B, C, and D), are positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses within the Picornaviridae family. They cause a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, including common childhood illnesses (e.g., acute febrile illness,…
INTRODUCTION Named for the site of the first outbreak in the Ebola River valley in 1977, Ebola virus and the closely related filovirus, Marburg virus, represent a family of pathogens that cause hemorrhagic fever with an associated high mortality. The…
Respiratory diphtheria is an acute communicable upper respiratory illness caused by toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae , a Gram-positive bacillus. The illness is characterized by a membranous inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, usually of the pharynx but sometimes of…
Diarrheal infections are estimated to cause 1.7 billion disease episodes and 700,000 deaths globally each year, mainly in children in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to these direct consequences, infectious diarrhea is a major cause of malnutrition leading to…