If you think you know how vaccination began - think again - because its dawn is clouded in myth and misrepresentation. Not a ‘discovery or an ‘invention’, vaccination was a development of what had gone before. Man’s battle against infectious disease had started in the Far East long ago with strange but effective practices to prevent smallpox. The true process of vaccination was first conceived and performed during 1774 by a yeoman farmer named Benjamin Jesty who lived in Dorset, UK. This p...

**"A real jewel of science history...brims with suspense and now-forgotten catastrophe and intrigue...Wadman’s smooth prose calmly spins a surpassingly complicated story into a real tour de force."—The New York Times“Riveting . . . [The Vaccine Race] invites comparison with Rebecca Skloot's 2007 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.”—NatureThe epic and controversial story of a major breakthrough in cell biology that led to the conquest of...

When a waiting world learned on April 12, 1955, that Jonas Salk had successfully created a vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis, he became a hero overnight. Born in a New York tenement, humble in manner, Salk had all the makings of a twentieth-century icon--a knight in a white coat. In the wake of his achievement, he received a staggering number of awards and honors; for years his name ranked with Gandhi and Churchill on lists of the most revered people. And yet the one group whose adulation h...

Plague has been the most feared disease across Europe since the Black Death in the 1340s. Dreaded because of the scale of the mortality and its sheer foulness, its periodic outbreaks had a devastating impact. London’s last and most destructive attack came in 1665, when, according to Bishop Gilbert Burnet, ‘a most terrible plague broke out, that depopulated the city of London, ruined the trade of the nation, and swept away about a hundred thousand persons’. Roughly one-fifth of the city’s p...

Access the latest information available in the challenging area of HIV/AIDS management with Sande's HIV/AIDS Medicine, 2nd Edition. Authored by a veritable "who's who" of current global experts in the field, this medical reference book will provide you with all the practical, indispensable guidance you'll need to offer your patients the best possible care. - Access reliable, up-to-the-minute guidance that addresses the realities of HIV/AIDS management in your geographical region, thanks to...

'A long-awaited book that answers many questions.' Jan de Vries Antibiotics were developed in the 1940s. Then, they were hailed as a huge breakthrough in the treatment of bacterial infections. Today, they are the most commonly prescribed drugs worldwide. But massive over-prescription of antibiotics has created its own problems. The advent of antibiotic-resistant organisms – or 'superbugs' – has led more and more people to demand alternatives. Natural Alternatives to Antibiotics is a revise...

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease, but it's not a disease of history. With more than a million victims every year – more than any other disease, including malaria – and antibiotic resistance now found in every country worldwide, tuberculosis is once again proving itself to be one of the smartest killers humanity has ever faced. But it's hardly surprising considering how long it's had to hone its skills. Forty-thousand years ago, our ancestors set off from the cradle of ci...

Why Millions Died reviews the painfully slow development of research by isolated investigators who believed that diseases could be caused by infectious organisms. The brutally contentious and vivid arguments that raged between the proponents of the germ theory of disease and those who condemned it from both the scientific community and the pulpits delayed the implementation of vaccines and antimicrobial agents. Such delays resulted in millions of deaths until the professional comm...

Why another book about vaccines? There are already a few extremely well-written medical textbooks that provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art technical reviews regarding vaccine science. Additionally, in the past decade alone, a number of engrossing, provocative books have been published on various related issues ra- ing from vaccines against specific diseases to vaccine safety and policy. Yet there remains a significant gap in the literature – the history of vaccines. Vaccines: A Biograp...

Antibiotics: Are they curing us or killing us? 'Without urgent, co-ordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill.' Dr Keiji Fukuda, World Health Organization For anyone reeling from this recent, shocking statement from WHO, Dr John McKenna is here to help. There is no doubt that there is a massive overuse of antibiotics. This book is for anyone who...

Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in the theory and applications of pharmacodynamics of antimicrobial agents. On the basis of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling concepts it has become possible to describe and predict the time course of antimicrobial effects under normal and pathophysiological conditions. The study of pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic relationships can be of considerable value in understanding drug action, defining optimal dosing regimens, and in ...

Written by an immunologist, A History of Immunology traces the concept of immunity from ancient times up to the present day, examining how changing concepts and technologies have affected the course of the science. It shows how the personalities of scientists and even political and social factors influenced both theory and practice in the field. With fascinating stories of scientific disputes and shifting scientific trends, each chapter examines an important facet of this discipline that h...