A flu suddenly becomes deadly and kills more than 20 million people. Malaria, once easily treated, has become one of the most persistent diseases of our time. Even new viruses such as HIV exhibit variations in the virus's ability to kill. A variety of factors influence the spread and deadliness of disease, but some biologists think a critical influence has been overlooked--evolution. Producers Marjorie Centofanti and Loretta Williams explore the evolution theories that could lead to change in the treatment of infectious disease.
Before there was the Ebola scare, before there was the recent hand-wringing over the vast stockpiles of biological weapons, Mount Dragon posed the question: what about genetic engineering gone wrong? If rogue viruses can cause devastation and widespread panic, what about viruses engineered--deliberately or accidentally--to be much worse than anything in nature? Imagine: something as deadly as cancer, but as contagious as the flu. Mount Dragon imagines this--and more.
Virology: Principles and Applications is a clear and accessible introduction to this fast-moving field, providing a comprehensive resource enabling the reader to understand the key concepts surrounding this exciting subject. The reader is introduced to the principles of virus structure, replication and genetics, along with the theories behind the origins of viruses and how they are evolving. Taking a modern approach to the subject, the relevance of virology to everyday life is clearly emphasised and discussions of emerging viruses, cancer, vaccines, anti-viral drugs and gene vectors are included. There is also a chapter on prions.
Completely rewritten, this edition has expanded coverage of zoonotic viruses and the diseases they cause, and viruses and viral diseases of laboratory animals, poultry, fish, and wildlife. The concept of new emerging and reemerging viral diseases reflects the new perspective this concept has brought to veterinary and zoonotic virology and related fields. Part I presents fundamental principles of virology related to animal infection and disease. Part II details the properties and clinical features of the viruses that afflict animals and describes their treatment and control.
Does viral hepatitis merit a 649-page, 10-lb review? It certainly does. Readers and the publisher appear to agree, because Viral Hepatitis has now appeared in a second edition. Hepatitis viruses are important agents of disease worldwide, and hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV), which produce chronic infections, affect hundreds of millions of people. These two viruses cause most cases of chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer in the world.
