This volume highlights recent advances in the tracking, detecting, and identifying of emerging and endemic pathogens throughout the world. The authors of the chapters are among the foremost experts in epidemiology, microbiology and public health and leaders in their respective countries. The chapters offer views on the history and current state of disease surveillance with special emphasis on the Caucasus and Central Asia, the historical land bridge between Europe and Asia through which epidemics have passed throughout history. A must-read for both specialists and students in public health.