Emerg Infect DiseidEmerging Infectious Diseases1080-60401080-6059Centers for Disease Control89692422639916Research ArticleGuarding against the most dangerous emerging pathogens.EwaldP. W.pwewald@amherst.eduDepartment of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002-5000, USA.Oct-Dec199624245257

Control of emerging infectious diseases will be difficult because of the large number of disease-causing organisms that are emerging or could emerge and the great diversity of geographic areas in which emergence can occur. The modern view of the evolution of pathogen virulence--specifically its focus on the tradeoff between costs and benefits to the pathogen from increased host exploitation--allows control programs to identify and focus on the most dangerous pathogens (those that can be established with high virulence in human populations).