David Niesel, PhD, and Norbert Herzog, PhD, published a blog post in the Huffington Post examining factors driving infectious disease outbreaks.
Here's what you should note:
1. Transportation allows people to travel around the globe, often bringing infectious disease with them. A traveler from Liberia made his way to Dallas, unaware he had Ebola. After undergoing treatment at a Dallas hospital, he infected two U.S. healthcare workers.
2. The world is becoming more urban with people living in confined places. The influx of people living in close proximity facilitates the spread of infectious microbes.
3. Many people across the globe live in poverty and are unable to get access to care. Also, they live in unhygienic conditions where microbes fester.
4. Warmer temperatures also impact mosquitoes, which spread diseases.
