Preface

Chapter 6 **Phenotypic and Molecular Methods for the Detection of**

**Nosocomial Pathogens 139**

**VI** Contents

**Taking Rabies as an Example 163**

**Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms in Gram Negative**

Meletis Georgios, Tzampaz Egki and Sianou Effrosyni

Chapter 7 **Trends in Research and Technology Development Related to**

Hiromi Takahashi-Omoe and Katsuhiko Omoe

**Section 4 Infectious Diseases Epidemiology & Surveillance 181**

Sutapa Biswas Majee and Gopa Roy Biswas

Chapter 8 **Unearthing the Complexities of Mathematical Modeling of Infectious Disease Transmission Dynamics 183**

**Zoonosis Control Based on Bibliometric and Patent Analyses–**

In spite of development in public health, medicine, and expertise, infectious diseases remain a foremost source of illness and death globally. Characteristic of infection is the incursion of host mechanism by infectious pathogens. The connection of pathogens with disease is a complex process which may require long time to be understood and answered. One of the most destructive epidemics in the last century occurred in 1918 when influenza pandemic broke, resulting in deaths of millions in less than a year. Similarly, HIV infection is causing continuous disaster affecting ~34 million people and causing ~13.9 million deaths. These ex‐ amples display the fright of infectious disease unpredictability and their reemergence.

Pathogens hijack the synchronized metabolic activities and use host factors as substrate for the process of their multiplication and flourishment. Not only pathogens, but their products like proteins and secreted toxins, damage host tissues. Infectious diseases are the outcome of the described process; they are transmissible diseases and can jump from one host to anoth‐ er with the help of vectors; biological vectors (low vertebrates, insects, avians, etc.) or physi‐ cal vectors (air, water soil, fomites, etc). Infectious agents are microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, nematodes, fungi and macro parasites. Discovery of disease-causing patho‐ gens is medically and clinically important. Infectious diseases on onset display various symptoms of illness resulting into severe from the infection, morbidity and sometimes fatali‐ ty also gets reported. Infectious diseases continue to be foundation for more risky and fatal health threats globally, giving serious challenges to the scientific community to control, cure and prevent them from causing diabolical effects on human race.

Majority of infectious diseases attack immune compromised hosts like infants, old aged and sick people. They cause fatal epidemics with huge extent and severity, emergence and ree‐ mergence, reassortment and destroy economies globally. Research activities report that in‐ fectious diseases like influenza, Japanese encephalitis, measles, hepatitis, cholera, dysentery, TB, typhoid fever, yellow fever, and malaria have been spine breaking for economy. Novel technologies and for molecular characterization of pathogens and studying their morpholo‐ gy, genome, epidemiology, serology and advancement in vaccines development, are neces‐ sary to eradicate the pathogens effectively. These problems can be controlled only by timely diagnosis and control measures.

The need of the hour is to efficiently combat infectious disease which requires onerous and combinatorial efforts between individuals, researchers, analysts, drug developers and fund‐ ing agencies. Lack of specific vaccines and therapeutics increases the risk potential of infec‐ tious disease, hence the development of effective therapeutics and strategies is extremely urgent. Disease control may be enhanced by improvements in prevention, sanitation and hygiene. Introduction of vaccination, antibiotics, other antimicrobial medicines, technologi‐

cal advances in detecting and monitoring infectious diseases like serological testing, patho‐ gen isolation and tissue culture techniques are promising and support infectious disease surveillance and control. We need to tackle diverse challenges of the emergence of new in‐ fectious diseases, re-emergence of old diseases and outbreaks. Answering the questions about role of infectious agents in causing acute or chronic diseases, cancers and various oth‐ er conditions is crucial.

This book covers a collection of chapters by brilliant researchers who have devoted their time to combat against infectious diseases. This book gives a comprehensive overview of recent trends in infectious diseases, as well as general concepts of infections, immunopathology, di‐ agnosis, treatment, epidemiology and etiology of current clinical recommendations in man‐ agement of infectious diseases, highlighting the ongoing issues, recent advances, with future directions in diagnostic approaches and therapeutic strategies. The book focuses on various aspects and properties of infectious diseases, whose deep understanding is very important for safeguarding human race from more loss of resources and economies due to pathogens.

The authors and editors of the book hope that this work might increase the interest in this field of research and that the readers will find it useful for their investigations, management and clinical usage. Also, I would like to thank Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CCMB), Director CCMB Dr CM Rao, colleagues, family, and parents who gave me a lot of encouragement and support during the work on this book.

> **Shailendra K. Saxena, PhD, DCAP, FAEB,** CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India

**Section 1**

**Viral Infectious Diseases**

**Viral Infectious Diseases**

cal advances in detecting and monitoring infectious diseases like serological testing, patho‐ gen isolation and tissue culture techniques are promising and support infectious disease surveillance and control. We need to tackle diverse challenges of the emergence of new in‐ fectious diseases, re-emergence of old diseases and outbreaks. Answering the questions about role of infectious agents in causing acute or chronic diseases, cancers and various oth‐

This book covers a collection of chapters by brilliant researchers who have devoted their time to combat against infectious diseases. This book gives a comprehensive overview of recent trends in infectious diseases, as well as general concepts of infections, immunopathology, di‐ agnosis, treatment, epidemiology and etiology of current clinical recommendations in man‐ agement of infectious diseases, highlighting the ongoing issues, recent advances, with future directions in diagnostic approaches and therapeutic strategies. The book focuses on various aspects and properties of infectious diseases, whose deep understanding is very important for safeguarding human race from more loss of resources and economies due to pathogens.

The authors and editors of the book hope that this work might increase the interest in this field of research and that the readers will find it useful for their investigations, management and clinical usage. Also, I would like to thank Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-CCMB), Director CCMB Dr CM Rao, colleagues, family, and parents who gave me a

> **Shailendra K. Saxena, PhD, DCAP, FAEB,** CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology,

> > Hyderabad, India

lot of encouragement and support during the work on this book.

er conditions is crucial.

VIII Preface

**Chapter 1**

**Japanese Encephalitis: A Neglected Viral Disease and Its**

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is among the most significant viral encephalitis in Asia, particularly in rural and suburban areas where rice culture and pig farming coexist. It has also occurred rarely and occasionally in northern Australia and some parts of the western pacific. JE is caused due to infection with the JE virus (JEV), a mosquito borne flavivrus. The main JEV transmission cycle involves *Culex tritaeniorhynchus* mosquitoes and similar species that lay eggs in rice paddies and other open water resources, with pigs and aquatic birds as principal vertebrate amplifying hosts [Han *et al*., 2012]. Humans are generally considered as dead-end JEV hosts i.e. they rarely develop enough viremia to infect feeding mosquitoes. Nearly 20-30% of JE cases are fatal and 30-50% of survivors have major neurological disorders [Bhattacharyya *et al*., 2013]. JE is mostly a disease of children but other age groups may be affected [Kundu *et al*., 2013; Griffiths *et al*., 2013; Larena *et al*., 2013]. In most temperate areas of Asia, JEV is transmitted mainly during summer season, when large epidemics can occur. In the tropics and subtropics region, transmission can occur throughout the year but often increases during the rainy season [Campbell *et al*., 2011]. The first epidemic of JE was recorded in Japan in 1871. Major outbursts have been seen in nearly every 10 years. In 1924 more than 6,000 cases were reported in a major outbreak in Japan [Solomon *et al*., 2000]. The disorders caused by JEV began from Southeast Asia and now it's affecting people worldwide [Liu *et al*., 2013; Li *et al*., 2013]. Nearly 30 million people are at danger of JEV infection [Saxena *et al*., 2003]. Though intensive care and support are able to lower the death rate but patients continue to suffer from this disease for a long period of time. Some effects such as learning difficulties and behavioral problems can remain

> © 2014 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Impact on Global Health**

Madhavan P.N. Nair

**1. Introduction**

masked for several years.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58529

Shailendra K. Saxena, Parth T. Agrawal and

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter
