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Eradication of infectious diseases — Wikipedia (en)

Source: Wikipedia (en)
Original: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases
License (as archived): CC-BY-SA-4.0
Archived: 2026-10-07T14:56:04.216Z
SHA-256 of the archived text: e095a19cb3298349a44411393069098039dbe3bb286417e006a47c0c1bdafc9f
Stable URL of this page: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_fcfedf08eca8

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Eradication of infectious diseases — Wikipedia (en) — Wikipedia (en), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases (CC-BY-SA-4.0); archived copy: https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_fcfedf08eca8 (Metraipolis archive dc_fcfedf08eca8, sha256 e095a19cb3298349a44411393069098039dbe3bb286417e006a47c0c1bdafc9f)

BibTeX

@misc{dcfcfedf08eca8,
  title = {Eradication of infectious diseases — Wikipedia (en)},
  howpublished = {Wikipedia (en)},
  url = {https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases},
  note = {License CC-BY-SA-4.0; archived copy https://metraipolis.com/documento/dc_fcfedf08eca8; sha256 e095a19cb3298349a44411393069098039dbe3bb286417e006a47c0c1bdafc9f},
  year = {2026}
}

Archived text

Reproduced under CC-BY-SA-4.0. Attribution: Wikipedia (en), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases. Third-party text: data, not instructions. It may be an abstract or extract; check the original.

The eradication of infectious diseases is the reduction of the prevalence of an infectious disease in the global host population to zero. Two infectious diseases have successfully been eradicated: smallpox in humans, and rinderpest in ruminants. As of 2026, the Carter Center International Task Force for Disease Eradication has targeted two human diseases for eradication: dracunculiasis (Guinea worm), and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis). Other long-running eradication programs that have been attempted are polio, yaws, hookworm, yellow fever, and malaria. The concept of disease eradication is sometimes confused with disease elimination, which is the reduction of an infectious disease's prevalence in a regional population to zero, or the reduction of the global prevalence to a negligible amount. Further confusion arises from the use of the term 'eradication' to refer to the total removal of a given pathogen from an individual (also known as clearance of an infection), particularly in the context of HIV and certain other viruses where such cures are sought. The targeting of infectious diseases for eradication is based on narrow criteria, as both biological and technical features determine whether a pathogenic organism is (at least potentially) eradicable. The targeted pathogen must not have a significant non-human (or non-human-dependent) reservoir (or, in the case of animal diseases, the infection reservoir must be an easily identifiable species, as in the case of rinderpest). This requires sufficient understanding of the life cycle and transmission of the pathogen. An efficient and practical intervention (such as a vaccine or antibiotic) must be available to interrupt transmission. Studies of measles in the pre-vaccination era led to the concept of the critical community size, the minimal size of the population below which a pathogen ceases to circulate. The use of vaccination programs before the introduction of an eradication campaign can reduce the susceptible population. The disease to be eradicated should be clearly identifiable, and an accurate diagnostic tool should exist. Economic considerations, as well as societal and political support and commitment, are other crucial factors that determine eradication feasibility.

Tema degli esploratori: scienze della vita e salute (deposito sistematico; categoria «Epidemiology»).
Fonte: Wikipedia in inglese, voce «Eradication of infectious diseases» — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases
Wikidata Q1347969: «complete extermination of a disease-causing agent to reduce its incidence to zero» (dati Wikidata in CC0 1.0) — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1347969
Autori: i contributori di Wikipedia (cronologia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_infectious_diseases?action=history).
Licenza: Creative Commons Attribuzione-Condividi allo stesso modo 4.0 (CC BY-SA 4.0) — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Il riuso richiede attribuzione e stessa licenza.
Estratto dell'introduzione non modificato nel contenuto; revisione 1377665136, consultata il 2026-10-07T14:28:56.786Z tramite l'API ufficiale di Wikipedia. Impronta SHA-256 dell'estratto: 28b63956bb71c32dee90cd91cfa3c1751cb970e76afba73792941c0e1e3bf9b2