In this period of obvious natural emergence of viral and other diseases, it is unclear as to what diseases are emerging, why they are emerging, and what, if anything, can be done to prevent or diminish their impact. This book, a compendium of presentations made at an international meeting of experts, provides summaries of areas of concern and details as to how disease agents such as Nipah and Hendra viruses in Australasia and West Nile virus in the Americas might have suddenly appeared. Either by alterations in natural habitats and diversity or by chance, pathogens emerge from time to time. This book addresses various aspects of such emergences, such as pathogenetic mechanisms of viruses, diagnosis of viral infections, viral host-management strategies, viral genetics, vaccine development and application, and more and would be valuable for laboratory virologists, disease ecologists, physicians, those who would try to understand the complexities of viral characteristics. TOC:From the contents:De Gourville/Dowdle: The role of surveillance in polio eradication and identification of emerging viral encephalitisGriffin/Byrnes/Cook: Emergence and virulence of encephalitogenic arbovirusesBeasley et al.: Molecular determinants of virulence of West Nile virus in North AmericaGould/Moss/Turner: Evolution and dispersal of encephalitic flavivirusesLvov et al.: West Nile virus and other zoonotic viruses in RussiaMackenzie/Field: Emerging encephalitogenic viruses Heinz/Stiasny/Allison: The entry machinery of flavivirusesLafon: Subversive neuroinvasive strategy of rabies virusSolomon/Winter: Neurovirulence and host factors in flavivirus encephalitisFazakerley: Semliki Forest virus infection of laboratory miceKofler/Heinz/Mandl: A novel principle of attenuation for the development of new generation live flavivirus vaccinesHeinz/Kunz: Tick-borne encephalitis and the impact of vaccinationJohnston/Davis: Future vaccines against emerging encephalitides