An unnatural history of emerging infections / Ron Barrett and George J. Armelagos.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barrett, Ron, 1963-

Contributor:

Armelagos, George J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Emerging infectious diseases--Epidemiology.

Emerging infectious diseases.

Infection--History.

Infection.

Communicable Diseases, Emerging--history.

Infections--history.

Social Determinants of Health--history.

Epidemiologic Factors.

History.

Medical Subjects:

Communicable Diseases, Emerging--history.

Infections--history.

Social Determinants of Health--history.

Epidemiologic Factors.

Physical Description:

x, 142 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2013.

Summary:

This book traces the human determinants of infectious diseases from the Neolithic to the present day. Despite recent discoveries of new pathogens, the major determinants of these infections are ancient and recurring. They include changing modes of subsistence and settlement, shifting populations, environmental disruptions, and social inequalities. An Unnatural History of Emerging Infections illustrates these recurring themes with an examination of three major epidemiological transitions that have occurred with the Agricultural Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the globalization of human societies today. These events show that the recent label of "emerging infections" has less to do with new diseases, and more to do with an emerging awareness in affluent societies of long-standing problems that were previously ignored. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 The First Transition

1 The Prehistoric Baseline 15

1.1 Nomadic Foraging: Then and Now 18

1.2 Subsistence, Nutrition, and Activity 20

1.3 Population Structure and Settlement 24

1.4 Social Organization and Inequalities 26

1.5 Conclusion 27

2 Revolution and the Domestication of Pathogens 29

2.1 Measuring the Health of Dead People 32

2.2 Societies in Transition 35

2.3 Selecting for Infectious Diseases 39

2.4 Europe and the People without Smallpox 41

Part 2 The Second Transition

3 Why Germ Theory Didn't Matter 49

3.1 Germ Theory versus the Sanitary Reform Movement 50

3.2 The McKeown Thesis 54

3.3 McKeown's Critics and a Rejoinder 59

3.4 Health Trade-offs and the Shape of Things to Come 62

4 The Worst of Both Worlds 65

4.1 Delayed and Incomplete Transitions 66

4.2 Chronic Diseases and New Syndemics 68

4.3 Aging and Poverty 70

4.4 Accelerated Globalization and Re-emerging Awareness 73

Part 3 The Third Transition

5 New Diseases, Raw and Cooked 79

5.1 The Evolution of Invasion 81

5.2 Virulence and Vulnerability 88

5.3 The Ancient Determinants of Future Pandemics 92

6 Inevitable Resistance 93

6.1 Long Before Antibiotics... 94

6.2 From Soil and Seed to Magic Bullets 97

6.3 Antibiotics and Human Use 100

6.4 Antibiotics and Agricultural Use 103

6.5 Antibiotics and Vulnerability 106

6.6 The Persistence of Resistance 107

7 Conclusion 109

7.1 Subsistence: Then and Now 111

7.2 Settlement: Then and Now 112

7.3 Social Organization: Then and Now 113

7.4 Moving Beyond the Third Transition 114.

ISBN:

0199608296

9780199608294

OCLC:

837528212

Publisher Number:

99958839048