New epidemics such as AIDS and "mad cow" disease have dramatized the need to explore the factors underlying rapid viral evolution and emerging viruses. This comprehensive volume is the first to describe this multifaceted new field. It places viral evolution and emergence in a historical context, describes the interaction of viruses with hosts, and details the advances in molecular biology and epidemiology that have provided the tools necessary to track developing viral epidemics and to detect new viruses far more successfully than could be done in the recent past. This unique book also lucidly details case histories and offers practical suggestions for the prevention of future epidemics. The contributors are leading authorities in their disciplines, and were selected both for their expert knowledge and for their ability to define and elucidate the fundamental issues. The book is highly accessible and has been written for a wide audience that includes virologists, public
health authorities, medical anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, geneticists, infectious disease specialists, and social scientists interested in medical and health issues.
Industry Reviews
"Should appeal to a wide readership. It should be read by those responsible for curriculum design for medical and public health schools, by all professional workers dealing with infectious diseases, by biomedical writers responsible for informing the public, and by those responsible for determining priorities for the funding of health programs and biomedical research and training." --The New England Journal of Medicine
"A fascinating and worrisome discussion....Due to the importance and general interest of the subject, readers at many levels of expertise will be fascinated by Emerging Viruses." --BioScience
"This important book examines the biologic, ecologic, and social factors responsible for the continuing emergence of new viral diseases . . . . The book should appeal to a wide readership. It should be read by those responsible for curriculum design for medical and public health schools, by all professional workers dealing with infectious diseases, by biomedical writers responsible for informing the public, and by those responsible for determining priorities
for the funding of health programs and biomedical research and training." --Thomas H. Weller in The New England Journal of Medicine
"This volume presents 28 brief chapters in dazzling variety, only a handful of them in too narrow a jargon." --Scientific American
"Resisting the temptation to present a doomsday scenario, the authors have achieved a well-balanced account. The book is scholarly, thoughtful, and well written, and scientific jargon has been kept to a minimum, making it easy and enjoyable reading even for those with a limited background in biology." --Walter Dowdle in Science
"Intriguing. . . . new viral diseases . . . are described in great detail. A valuable contribution to the new field of emerging viral diseases." --Choice
"Morse has done a wonderful service to the disciplines of epidemiology and virology. He has given us a book that has the feel of a single-author volume, yet contains the wisdom of the foremost authorities in the fields that it spans. . . . a manifesto for use by professionals in the field. It is hard to imagine how this important message could be better packaged than in this stimulating book." --Philip P. Mortimer, American Journal of Epidemiology
"For the scientifically literate general reader and the specialist. Often crossing disciplinary lines it systematically explores what is known about the reasons for viral emergence." --In Context
"A fine series of essays and reports on new (and old) viral diseases affecting mankind. Excellent emphasis on history and our future. 3 stars." --American Association of Forensic Dentists
"We now realize that infectious organisms are . . . likely to be major worldwide threats into the distant future. . . . Emerging Viruses is the first book that confronts this problem and offers a program through which the concept of preventative medicine might be expanded to encompass preventative epidemiology. . . . [O]ne major advancement of a discipline should be enough for one book, and this book certainly has made one: It has focused attention on
a forward-looking approach to recognize and block the emergence of viruses. . . . [A] fine reference point for readers who wish to become familiar with the issue of emerging viruses. . . . The ideas in the book
are . . . helping to propel us ahead of our pathogenic threats."--Paul W. Ewald, Amherst College, in The Quarterly Review of Biology
"Provides a comprehensive introduction to issues of growing importance for public health policy and prevention....Morse's consistently well-written collection provides an important entry point for practitioners, public health professionals, and policy-makers perplexed by the increasingly rapid coevolution of pathogens, their hosts, and their environment." --Paul R. Epstein, MD, MPH, American Journal of Preventive Medicine
"A fascinating and worrisome discussion....Due to the importance and general interest of the subject, readers at many levels of expertise will be fascinated by Emerging Viruses...Surveys a vast array of past and emerging viruses, bringing readers up to date. It describes the basic human conditions of life, unexpected disease, and death. These issues are interesting to us all." --David Kabat, Oregon University of Health Sciences, BioScience
