Viruses, plagues, and history / Michael B.A. Oldstone.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Oldstone, Michael B. A.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Virus diseases--History.

Virus diseases.

Medicine--History.

Medicine.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (383 p.)

Edition:

Rev. and updated ed.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The story of viruses and the story of humanity have been intertwined since the dawn of history. The first small cities formed not only the cradle of civilization, but the spawning ground for the earliest viral epidemics, the first opportunity for viruses to find a home in the human herd. This is a story of fear and ignorance, as everything from demons and the wrath of the gods to minority groups have been blamed for epidemics from smallpox to yellow fever to AIDS. It is a story of grief and heartbreak, as hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, are wiped out in a single year. And it is a st

Contents:

Viruses, plagues, and history. A general introduction. Introduction to the principles of virology. Introduction to the principles of immunology

Success stories. Smallpox. Yellow fever. Measles virus. Poliomyelitis

Present and future challenges. An overview of newly emerging viral plagues : the hemorrhagic fevers. Lassa fever. Ebola. Hantavirus. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) : the first pandemic of the twenty-first century. West Nile virus : deaths of crows and humans. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) : AIDS, the current plague. Mad cow disease and Englishmen : spongiform encephalopathies-Prion disease. Influenza virus, the plague that may return. Conclusions and future predictions.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780198027751

9780199754847

OCLC:

435912180