ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the relationship between travel and emerging disease and examines new challenges, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza. SARS is a severe respiratory infection with associated gastrointestinal symptoms in an as-yet unknown percentage of those infected. Thought to have originated in Guangdong Province, China, the disease presents with malaise, myalgia and fever, quickly followed by respiratory symptoms including cough and shortness of breath. Avian influenza was first described in Italy in 1878 among chickens and currently there are over 24 subtypes of the virus known to cause the disease. Influenza is an acute viral disease of the respiratory tract characterized by fever, headache, myalgia, prostration, coryza, sore throat and a cough that is often severe and protracted. Airborne spread predominates among crowded populations in enclosed spaces and may also occur through direct contact. One of the key drivers in the recent emergence and spread of influenza is the evolution of the poultry industry.
