RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT OF INFECTIOUS-DISEASES

The purpose of risk assessment is to provide source data to state and local health agencies and other administrative departments to aid in t he development of approaches for risk management and preventive strate gies. In respect of the far reaching consequences it is necessary to h ave evaluated and accepted measures for the risk assessment. The syste m of risk assessment was developed in the USA for the assessment of ch emical substances and includes the identification of the hazard, the e xposure assessment, the dose-response-assessment and the risk assessme nt. Basis for the risk assessment are detailed information of the chem ical substance or the pathogen and epidemiologic data. Preventive stra tegies and risk management like the step of production have great soci al and economic consequences. Risk management must be highly effective . In a historic review it is described that in the past of the former centuries infectious diseases were tried to prevent or control in a wr ong manner in consequence of the lack of knowledge about the etiology of infectious diseases. Since Robert Koch there was the beginning of a n effective risk assessment and manage ment of infectious diseases. Lo ng time in this century it was thought that infectious diseases wouldn 't play any role for the public hearth. Now it is clear that infectiou s diseases remain the leading cause of death and disability in the dev eloped and underdeveloped countries and that the risk potential is inc reasing. Therefore risk-assessment and risk-management developed fomer ly for chemical substances are necessary for infectious diseases. Spec ific criteria for the risk assessment for infectious diseases which ar e different to chemical substances are discussed like illness related, pathogen related, host related, transmission related factors and gene ral aspects. The most important measures for risk management are discu ssed.