Outbreaks of "zoonotic" diseases such as Ebola virus, mad cow disease and hantavirus, which have leaped from animal species into the human population in recent years, are likely to accelerate as people and domestic animals intrude into wild habitats, and global air-travel moves disease-carrying insects and humans around the world, a UC Davis virologist warns in the current issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. "It is imperative that we establish an international network of scientists and health professionals who are trained and equipped to prevent, diagnose and treat such diseases," says Frederick Murphy, a professor of virology in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Murphy previously served as director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and was the first person to capture an image of the Ebola virus with an electron microscope. Unlike other infectious diseases that require a few straightforward diagnostic tests, zoonotic diseases necessitate extensive epidemiologic research projects, with the early work conducted wherever the outbreak occurs, says Murphy. Diagnostic laboratories capable of supporting such investigations need to be established overseas, particularly in Africa, and additional highly sophisticated laboratories should be built in the United States to deal with the most hazardous of these diseases, he adds. "On a global level, we must integrate public health experts specializing in emerging infectious diseases with professionals who are focused on livestock diseases, crop plant diseases and even bioterrorism," says Murphy.