Universal Precautions: The use of gloves, protective garments, and masks, when handling potentially infectious or contaminated materials (http://www.who.int/csr/disease/hepatitis/whocdscsrlyo20022/en/index5.html#guidelines).

Vaccine: A preparation of living, attenuated, or killed bacteria or viruses, fractions thereof, or synthesized or recombinant antigens identical or similar to those found in the disease-causing organisms, that is administered to raise immunity to a particular microorganism.

Vector: A carrier, especially an arthropod, that transfers an infective agent from one host (which can include itself) to another.

Vector-borne: Transmitted from one host to another by a vector.

Viral Sovereignty: Deadly viruses are the sovereign property of individual nations even though they cross borders and could pose a pandemic threat to all the world’s peoples. Coined by Indonesia’s minister of health, Siti Fadilah Supari (http://www.whothailand.org/LinkFiles/Media_AI25Sep08.pdf).

Viremia: The presence of virus in the blood of a host.

Virulence: The ability of any infectious agent to produce disease. The virulence of a microoganism (such as a bacterium or virus) is a measure of the severity of the disease it is capable of causing.

Wheat Gluten: The mixture of proteins, including gliadins and glutelins, found in wheat grains, which are not soluble in water and which give wheat dough its elastic texture (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gluten).

Xenotransplantation: Any procedure that involves the transplantation, implantation, or infusion into a human recipient of either (a) live cells, tissues, or organs from a nonhuman animal source, or (b) human body fluids, cells, tissues or organs that have had ex vivo contact with live nonhuman animal cells, tissues or organs (synonym: xenogeneic transplantation) (http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Xenotransplantation/default.htm).

Zoonotic Infection: Infection that causes disease in human populations but can be perpetuated solely in nonhuman host animals (e.g., bubonic plague); may be enzootic or epizootic.