The Workshop on Infectious Disease: Theoretical, Ecological and Economic Approach, 13-15 April 2005, organized by a diverse group of scientific experts working on three continents, sought to analyze the most pressing and intriguing aspects of the dynamics and epidemiology of infectious diseases. It addressed such issues as the economic impact of infectious diseases on human and wildlife populations, adaptive response and antibiotic resistance, the cost and effectiveness of vaccination regimes and other control strategies, the relationship between poverty, malnutrition and diseases, the effect of habitat alteration and climate change on disease epidemics, and the emergence of new and resurgent diseases.