Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging Infectious Diseases offers an introduction to emerging and reemerging infectious disease, focusing on significant illnesses found in various regions of the world. Many of these diseases strike tropical regions or developing countries with particular virulence, others are found in temperate or developed areas, and still other microbes and infections are more indiscriminate.

This volume includes information on the underlying mechanisms of microbial emergence, the technology used to detect them, and the strategies available to contain them. The author describes the diseases and their causative agents that are major factors in the health of populations the world over.

The book contains up-to-date selections from infectious disease journals as well as information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, MedLine Plus, and the American Society for Microbiology.

Perfect for students or those new to the field, the book contains Summary Overviews (thumbnail sketches of the basic information about the microbe and the associated disease under examination), Review Questions (testing students' knowledge of the material), and Topics for Further Discussion (encouraging a wider conversation on the implications of the disease and challenging students to think creatively to develop new solutions).

This important volume provides broad coverage of a variety of emerging infectious diseases, of which most are directly important to health practitioners in the United States.

Lisa A. Beltz, PhD, is assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Tuscarawas, New Philadelphia, Ohio. Previously she was associate professor, Department of Biology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Among her honors are a post-doctoral trainee fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and a SHARP Research Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. She won University of Northern Iowa's Biology Honors Teacher of the Year award in 2005.