Pandemics / Peter C. Doherty.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Doherty, P. C. (Peter C.)

Contributor:

ebrary, Inc.

Series:

What everyone needs to know

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Epidemics--History.

Epidemics.

History.

World health.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxxviii, 227 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, [2013]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

"From HIV to H1N1, pandemics pose one of the greatest threats to global health in the twenty-first century. Defined as epidemics of infectious disease across large geographic areas, pandemics can disseminate globally with incredible speed as humans and goods move faster than ever before. While restricted travel, quarantine, vaccines, drugs, and education can reduce the severity of many outbreaks, factors such as global warming, population density, and antibiotic resistance will complicate our ability to fight disease. Respiratory infections like influenza and SARS spread quickly as a consequence of modern, mass air travel, while unsafe health practices promote the spread of viruses like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. In Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know, Nobel Prize-winning immunologist Peter Doherty addresses the history of pandemics and the ones that persist today, what promotes global spread, types of pathogens and the level of threat they pose, as well as how to combat outbreaks and mitigate their effects"--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Infection and Immunity 1

What is the difference between a virus and a bacterium? 2

What is the difference between RNA and DNA? 9

Aren't viruses also much smaller than bacteria? 13

Why is it important to distinguish viruses from bacteria when discussing pandemics? 15

Are colds and flu caused by hundreds of viruses? 17

What exactly is a pathogen? 19

How does infection happen? 22

What is snot? 26

What is a horizontal infection? Is there another kind? 26

Are all virus and bacterial infections bad for us? 27

If there is a bacterial and protozoal "microbiome," is there also a "virome"? 28

What does "immunity" mean? 30

What are monoclonal antibodies? 37

Would you describe mAbs as drugs or vaccines? 39

What are vaccines? 40

2 Pandemics, Epidemics, and Outbreaks 42

What is the exact definition of pandemic? 42

Who declares a pandemic? 43

Was the H1N1 "swine flu" really so mild? 44

How does the WHO operate? 45

Should the pandemic classification system be refined? 48

How does a pandemic differ from an epidemic or an outbreak? 49

Do all pandemics involve infection? 51

What does the term "zoonosis" mean? 52

What is an endemic infection, and how does it differ from an epidemic infection? 54

Are plants also included in the world of pandemics? 55

In Summary 55

3 The SARS Warning 56

Why was SARS so scary? 56

How did SARS spread so quickly through hospitals? 57

What caused SARS and where did the pathogen come from? 59

Aside from "natural" reservoirs, are there other potential sources of SARS? 61

What steps were taken to stop the SARS outbreak? 61

Did the SARS experience have long-term effects, and what lessons were learned? 63

4 Tuberculosis and Influenza 66

Why should TB and influenza be considered together? 66

What is the current situation with TB? 66

Is multi-drug-resistant TB still an issue? 68

What is being done to combat the MDR TB threat? 70

Why might influenza remain the most obvious known pandemic threat? 70

What are the different kinds of influenza viruses? 72

What is antigenic shift and why is it so dangerous? 74

Are birds and pigs our main concern when it comes to catching the flu? 78

What was so special about the virus that caused the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic? 79

Is our capacity to counter influenza improving? 82

Are we making progress with flu vaccines? 83

Apart from vaccines, are there other products available to prevent infection? 86

How afraid should we be of influenza? 88

5 Fledermaus to Field Mouse 90

What's a fledermaus? 90

Is it unusual that fruit bats carry SARS? 90

Are the henipaviruses potential pandemic pathogens? 93

Is Ebola the scariest of all viruses? 94

What exactly is a hemorrhagic disease? 36

Are filoviruses the main cause of hemorrhagic fevers? 98

6 Virus Vectors 102

What is a vector? 102

What is WNV, and has it been around for very long? 103

WNV infects birds, horses, and humans-does it also multiply in mosquitoes? 104

What exactly is yellow fever virus? 106

What do we know about the global movements of arboviruses? 109

Do mosquitoes and ticks really carry needles? 110

What are the pandemic risks when it comes to these vectored viruses? 111

7 Single-Host Human Pathogens 114

Is an infection that is already widespread in humans likely to cause a pandemic? 114

What are noroviruses? 114

Are the noroviruses our only concern when it comes to the virus diarrheas? 115

What is intussusception? 116

Are there other ways of protecting against these viruses? 116

Apart from the hemorrhagic viruses, are cholera and typhoid the main causes of skin spots? 117

Is measles something that we should still be worried about? 118

Are there any other kinds of GI tract infections? 119

Is there a good hepatitis vaccine? 119

Are HepB and HepC the most dangerous of the hepatitis viruses? 121

Why is chronic hepatitis so dangerous? 122

Is it safe to have a blood transfusion? 123

Are any of these single-host human pathogens likely to cause pandemics? 124

8 HIV/AIDS 126

Is HIV still a concern? 126

Can what's happening now with HIV/AIDS be described as a pandemic? 127

Is there any improvement in the AIDS situation? 127

Where did this virus come from, and why didn't we see AIDS before 1981? 129

Was AIDS active much earlier in Africa? 130

Does the immune system fail totally when confronted with HIV? 131

How does HIV target the CD4+ T cell? 133

Do we yet have a vaccine for AIDS? 133

Will we ever have a vaccine for AIDS? 134

Has science failed us when it comes to HIV/AIDS? 135

What progress has been made in the last 25 years? 136

Could AIDS blow up in some way to cause an even bigger problem? 138

Once in the human body, can HIV ever be eliminated? 139

The Bottom Line 142

9 Mad Cows and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease 143

Has there ever been a mad cow or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease pandemic? 143

So what is spongiform encephalopathy? 144

If the TSEs are infections, what's the big mystery? 145

Did BSE originate from sheep scrapie? 147

What is "bone meal"? 148

Has anyone contacted vCJD from eating imported British beef? 148

Was there even the possibility of a BSE/vCJD pandemic? 149

Does the history of BSE/CJD raise other concerns? 149

Are the TSEs a pandemic risk? 150

10 Economics and the Human-Animal Equation 152

What type of pandemic infection causes the most economic damage? 152

Is a novel respiratory infection the only economic threat? 153

Will it be massively expensive if quarantine officials are suddenly faced with an emergency? 154

From a financial standpoint, does influenza remain our main concern? 155

Why is FMD so damaging? 156

Could there ever be a global FMD pandemic? 157

Has an animal virus ever been introduced deliberately into "virgin soil"? 158

Other than as a consequence of bioterrorism, is a veterinary pandemic likely? 162

Are animal and human pandemics dealt with very differently? 165

Can returning tourists be infected with something that transmits to animals? 166

Can imported animals infect humans? 166

Can humans be infected from imported animal or other products? 167

In Summary 168

11 Bioterrorism 169

Could sophisticated terrorists initiate a pandemic? 169

What about Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction? 171

Why is a rogue state more worrisome than a terrorist cell when it comes to biological weapons? 171

Why would smallpox potentially be used in bioterrorism? 173

What do we know about anthrax? 175

Can you envision other novel bioterror pandemic scenarios? 177

Is a bioterrorist-initiated pandemic unlikely? 178

12 Protecting Humanity from and during Pandemics 179

Is there anything that I can do personally to limit the possibility of a dangerous pandemic? 179

What if I become ill while traveling? 182

What if I develop symptoms after I return home? 182

Apart from being a responsible traveler, what else might I do? 184

Are there useful steps that I can take at the level of my local community? 186

How do I protect my family if a pandemic hits? 187

Does the idea of being "too clean" apply to pandemics? 190

Where do I look for help if I become infected during the course of a major pandemic? 192

The Bottom Line 193

13 Conclusions 195.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries.

OCLC:

854568683

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.