Biohazards: Humanity's Battle With Infectious Disease (Science and Technology in Focus)

CONTENTS......Page 6
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS......Page 10
INTRODUCTION......Page 12
PART 1: The Lethality of the Very Small......Page 14
1 INVISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE......Page 16
Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites, and Molds......Page 18
The Most Virulent Diseases......Page 22
2 WHERE THE SMALL THINGS ARE......Page 25
The Opportunistic Evolution of Disease......Page 26
Deadly Strangers......Page 27
Growth and Transmission......Page 31
3 KEEPING THINGS UNDER WRAPS......Page 34
Levels of Biosafety......Page 35
Tracking Diseases......Page 38
Quarantine and Treatment......Page 41
4 BIOHAZARDS IN THE MODERN WORLD......Page 44
Anthrax in an Envelope......Page 45
From the Western Nile to Middle America......Page 47
HIV/AIDS......Page 49
PART 2: Biohazards throughout History......Page 52
The Black Death......Page 54
Smallpox in the New World......Page 58
Cholera, Tuberculosis, and Other Foes......Page 60
The Influenza Pandemic of 1918......Page 66
Polio......Page 69
Legionnaires' Disease......Page 71
7 EARLY ATTEMPTS AT CONTAINMENT......Page 74
Blockades against Infectious Disease......Page 75
Training Medical Detectives......Page 78
The Development of Isolation Techniques......Page 83
8 FROM SUCCESS TO STALEMATE......Page 86
The Germ Theory of Disease......Page 87
Chemical Weapons against Microbes......Page 90
From Victory to Stalemate......Page 93
PART 3: Modern-Day Risks......Page 96
9 BIOHAZARDS AS WEAPONRY......Page 98
Weaponizing Microbes......Page 100
Fake Treaties and False Promises......Page 102
The Threat of Bioterrorism......Page 104
The Risks That Travelers Face......Page 107
Biohazard Control around the World......Page 110
Learning Lessons from the Past......Page 114
Needlesticks and Laboratory Slipups......Page 116
Medical Waste on the Shore......Page 119
Creating New Diseases by Accident......Page 121
12 THE RISE OF WORLDWIDE PATHOGENS......Page 125
Ebola and Marburg......Page 127
Hantavirus......Page 130
The Rapid Adaptations of HIV......Page 132
13 DRUG RESISTANCE......Page 135
Acute Otitis Media......Page 138
Hospitals and Germs......Page 141
Tuberculosis......Page 144
PART 4: The Perception of Disease......Page 148
14 MICROBES ON THE MOLECULAR LEVEL......Page 150
Gene Sequencing and Molecular Biology......Page 151
The Specificity of Viruses......Page 154
The Mechanics of Resistance......Page 156
Identifying Microbes from the Symptoms That They Cause......Page 160
Treating the Symptoms......Page 163
The Notion of Cure......Page 166
16 THE ECOLOGY OF MICROBES......Page 170
Patterns of Transmission......Page 171
Microbes in the Environment......Page 174
Controlling Microbes by Controlling Their Environment......Page 179
GLOSSARY......Page 184
The History of Disease......Page 188
Personal Perspectives on Disease......Page 189
History of Disease......Page 192
Genetics......Page 193
Diseases of Special Concern Today......Page 194
INDEX......Page 196