Table 2 Significant historical (i.e. effectively eradicated) EIDs

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a human respiratory infection, caused by a coronavirus isolated from Chinese horseshoe bats [95]. It was first reported in Asia in 2003 and, within a few months, spread to thirty seven countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia. It affected more than 8000 people and caused 774 deaths, before being successfully eliminated by concerted international efforts. The outbreak and fear that another pandemic could occur are estimated to have cost Canadian and east Asian economies US$200 billion [27].

Bovine spongiform encephalitis/variant Creutzfeldt Jacob disease (BSE/vCJD) is a rare but fatal human neurodegenerative condition, caused by consumption of bovine products contaminated with the prions that cause BSE. Since vCJD was first identified in 1996, 175 cases have been reported in the UK and forty nine elsewhere. The World Bank estimates that the direct costs of vCJD/BSE to date exceed more than US $11 billion. Infected herds and the control measure imposed to prevent further infections devastated agricultural communities. The impacts of the emergence of a new zoonotic disease amongst the British public were far broader than agriculture, including the cessation of UK plasma production because of potential iatrogenic infection. With an estimated one in 4000 UK residents carrying vCJD, the burdens will continue well into this century [96].