Comments on the life and contributions of Robert E. Shope -- Virus perpetuation in populations: biological variables that determine persistence or eradication -- The virus-immunity ecosystem -- Host range, amplification and arboviral disease emergence -- Regulation of Rodent-Borne viruses in the natural host: implications for human disease -- Population dynamics of RNA viruses: the essential contribution of mutant spectra -- Control of arbovirus diseases: is the vector the weak link? -- Pathogenesis of Rift Valley fever virus in mosquitoes — tracheal conduits & the basal lamina as an extra-cellular barrier -- The virulence of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus: unraveling the enigma -- The spread of the H5N1 bird flu epidemic in Asia in 2004 -- Transient or occult HIV infections may occur more frequently than progressive infections: changing the paradigm about HIV persistence -- Ehrlichia under our noses and no one notices -- The role of reverse genetics systems in determining filovirus pathogenicity -- Structural biology of old world and new world alphaviruses -- Species barriers in prion diseases — brief review -- Academic science and the business of vaccines -- Emerging infectious diseases: the public’s view of the problem and what should be expected from the public health community.

Significant zoonotic diseases have appeared with increasing frequency in recent years. At a symposium held in Galveston, Texas, in March 2004, many outstanding virologists and others presented papers under the broad theme of "emergence". The intent was to elucidate the diseases themselves, the mechanisms by which they have emerged, the publication perception and response to the diseases, and the possibility of prevention or prediction. The papers in this book summarize the talks of this meeting. Among the many timely papers are those by Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty, influenza epidemiologists Robert Webster and Jeffery Taubenberger, and important contributions by Neal Nathanson, Esteban Domingo, Barry Beaty, David Walker, James Hughes, and others of world expertise.