Six modern plagues and how we are causing them / Mark Jerome Walters.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walters, Mark Jerome.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Epidemiology--Popular works.

Epidemiology.

Environmental health--Popular works.

Environmental health.

Human ecology--Popular works.

Human ecology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (214 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington : Island Press/Shearwater Books, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

West Nile Virus-Mad Cow Disease-HIV/AIDS-Hantavirus-Lyme Disease... and a new strain of Salmonella. Such modern epidemics have emerged over the past few decades as mysterious, yet significant risks to human health. These "plagues" are forcing us to modify our lifestyles in ways that minimize our chances of becoming a statistic in the latest tally of the afflicted.In Six Modern Plagues, Mark Jerome Walters offers us the first book for the general reader that connects these emerging health risks and their ecological origins. Drawing on new research, interviews, and his own investigations, Mark Jerome Walters weaves together a compelling argument: that changes humans have made to the environment, from warming the climate to clearing the forests, have contributed to, if not caused a rising tide of diseases that are afflicting humans and many other species.According to Mark Jerome Walters, humans are not always innocent bystanders to infectious disease. To the contrary, in the case of many modern epidemics, we are the instigators. Six Modern Plagues, a ground-breaking introduction to the connection between disease and environmental degradation should be read by all those interested in their health and the health of others.

Contents:

The darkside of progress : Mad cow disease

A chimp called Amandine : HIV/AIDS

The travels of antibiotic resistance : Salmonella DT104

Of old growth and arthritis : Lyme disease

A spring to die for : Hantavirus

A virus from the Nile.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-190) and index.

ISBN:

9781417539659

1417539658

9781597266260

1597266264