Case Studies in Infectious Disease: Borellia burgdorferi presents the natural history of this infection from point of entry of the pathogen through pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment. A set of core questions explores the nature, causation, host response, manifestations, and management of this infectious process. This case also includes summary bullet points, questions and answers, and references.
The only available reference to comprehensively discuss the common and unusual types of rickettsiosis in over twenty years, this book will offer the reader a full review on the bacteriology, transmission, and pathophysiology of these conditions. Written from experts in the field from Europe, USA, Africa, and Asia, specialists analyze specific patho
Case Studies in Infectious Disease presents forty case studies featuring the most important human infectious diseases worldwide. Written for students of microbiology and medicine this book describes the natural history of infection from point of entry of the pathogen through pathogenesis, followed by clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment. Five core sets of questions are posed in each case. What is the nature of the infectious agent, how does it gain access to the body, what cells are infected, and how does the organism spread? What are the host defense mechanisms against the agent and how is the disease caused? What are the typical manifestations of the infection and the complications that can occur? How is the infection diagnosed and what is the differential diagnosis? How is the infection managed, and what preventative measures can be taken to avoid infection? This standardized approach provides the reader with a logical basis for understanding these diverse and medically important organisms, fully integrating microbiology and immunology throughout.
Physiology of Ticks focuses on the unique (and probably the most vulnerable) features of tick physiology and the physiological aspects of tick interactions with their hosts. The mechanisms used by non-feeding ticks to maintain their water balance are examined, along with the salivary mechanisms used by feeding ixodid ticks for excreting the enormous excess volumes of water and salts taken in during blood sucking. This book is comprised of 13 chapters and begins with a description of the morphology, deposition, and components of the tick cuticle. The discussion then turns to humidity relationships and water balance of ticks, as well as the sensory basis of tick feeding behavior and the immunological basis of host resistance to ticks. Subsequent chapters explore blood digestion in ticks; tick reproduction, with emphasis on sperm development, cytogenetics, oogenesis, and oviposition; effects of insect hormones and their mimics on tick development and reproduction; and the mechanisms of tick pheromones. The final chapter deals with diapause and biological rhythms in ticks. This monograph will be of value to entomologists, physiologists, biologists, and practitioners of tropical science.
Since the dawn of medical science, people have recognized connections between a change in the weather and the appearance of epidemic disease. With today's technology, some hope that it will be possible to build models for predicting the emergence and spread of many infectious diseases based on climate and weather forecasts. However, separating the effects of climate from other effects presents a tremendous scientific challenge. Can we use climate and weather forecasts to predict infectious disease outbreaks? Can the field of public health advance from "surveillance and response" to "prediction and prevention?" And perhaps the most important question of all: Can we predict how global warming will affect the emergence and transmission of infectious disease agents around the world? Under the Weather evaluates our current understanding of the linkages among climate, ecosystems, and infectious disease; it then goes a step further and outlines the research needed to improve our understanding of these linkages. The book also examines the potential for using climate forecasts and ecological observations to help predict infectious disease outbreaks, identifies the necessary components for an epidemic early warning system, and reviews lessons learned from the use of climate forecasts in other realms of human activity.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, with more than 300,000 cases diagnosed each year. However, doctors are deeply divided on how to diagnose and treat it, giving rise to the controversy known as the “Lyme Wars.” Firmly entrenched camps have emerged, causing physicians, patient communities, and insurance providers to be pitted against one another in a struggle to define Lyme disease and its clinical challenges. Health care providers may not be aware of its diverse manifestations or the limitations of diagnostic tests. Meanwhile, patients have felt dismissed by their doctors and confused by the conflicting opinions and dubious self-help information found online. In this authoritative book, the Columbia University Medical Center physicians Brian A. Fallon and Jennifer Sotsky explain that, despite the vexing “Lyme Wars,” there is cause for both doctors and patients to be optimistic. The past decade’s advances in precision medicine and biotechnology are reshaping our understanding of Lyme disease and accelerating the discovery of new tools to diagnose and treat it, such that the great divide previously separating medical communities is now being bridged. Drawing on both extensive clinical experience and cutting-edge research, Fallon, Sotsky, and their colleagues present these paradigm-shifting breakthroughs in language accessible to both sides. They clearly explain the immunologic, infectious, and neurologic basis of chronic symptoms, the cognitive and psychological impact of the disease, as well as current and emerging diagnostic tests, treatments, and prevention strategies. Written for the educated patient and health care provider seeking to learn more, Conquering Lyme Disease gives an up-to-the-minute overview of the science that is transforming the way we address this complex illness. It argues forcefully that the expanding plague of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases can be confronted successfully and may soon even be reversed.
The ecological relationships found to exist between tick vectors and pathogens in their zootic cycle can profoundly influence patterns of transmission and disease for humans and domestic animals. This book examines the ecological parameters affecting the conservation and regulation of tick-borne zoonoses as well as the geographic and seasonal distributions of those infections. Written by an eminent authority on the subject, the book will be sought after by students and researchers in ecology, invertebrate zoology, parasitology, entomology, public health, and epidemiology.
Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis) is the most prevalent vector-borne illness in the United States and Europe and a growing threat to global health. In addition Lyme disease is considered a model system of emerging infectious diseases. The book Borrelia: Molecular Biology, Host Interaction and Pathogenesis published in 2010 was the first state-of-the-art reference work covering the myriad, interlaced facets of the enzootic disorders caused by pathogenic Borrelia. This current volume, by the same editors, builds on the previous work and contains a vast amount of new information, a wider scope, and increased coverage of genomics, genetics, evolutionary biology, vector biology, physiology, pathogenicity, immune response, and immune evasion. Written by renowned scientists who have made seminal contributions to the field, this book contains an expansive treatment of the options to track live spirochetes and evaluate gene expression in ticks and mice, provides insights into the workings of the flagellar motor, presents up-to-date research on the modulation of gene expression, and reviews recent studies on the Lyme disease spirochete's networks of regulatory pathways. The volume highlights and describes in detail the tremendous advances in understanding of the Borrelia genus at the molecular and cellular levels as well as the pathogenesis of Lyme disease and relapsing fever. This comprehensive volume is indispensable for anyone involved in Borrelia and Lyme disease research and is highly recommended for microbiologists, immunologists, and physicians with an interest in spirochetes, vector-borne illness, or emerging infectious diseases. The book is a recommended reference volume for all microbiology libraries.
