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Disease Ecology: Community structure and pathogen dynamics

Sharon K. Collinge and Chris Ray (eds)

Many infectious diseases of recent concern, including malaria, cholera, plague, and Lyme disease, have emerged from complex ecological communities involving multiple hosts and their associated ... More

Many infectious diseases of recent concern, including malaria, cholera, plague, and Lyme disease, have emerged from complex ecological communities involving multiple hosts and their associated parasites. Several of these diseases appear to be influenced by human impacts on the environment, for example intensive agriculture, clear-cut forestry, and habitat loss, and fragmentation. Such environmental impacts may affect many species at trophic levels below or above the host community. Thus, the prevalence of both human and wildlife diseases may alter in unanticipated ways as a result of changes in the structure and composition of ecological communities. This book highlights exciting advances in theoretical and empirical research aimed towards a better understanding of the importance of community structure in the emergence of infectious diseases. To date, research on host-parasite systems has tended to explore only a limited set of community interactions, and little effort has been devoted to addressing complications, such as multiple-host-multiple-parasite systems; sequential hosts acting on different trophic levels; alternate hosts with spatially varying interactions; or stochastic effects resulting from small population size in at least one alternate host species. The chapters in this book illustrate aspects of community ecology that influence pathogen transmission rates and disease dynamics in a wide variety of study systems. It communicates a clear message: studies of epidemiology can be approached from the perspective of community ecology, and students of community ecology can contribute significantly to epidemiology.Less

Disease Eradication in the 21st Century: Implications for Global Health

Stephen L. Cochi and Walter R. Dowdle (eds)

Disease eradication represents the ultimate in global equity and the definitive outcome of good public health practice. Thirty years ago, the elimination of smallpox defined disease eradication as a ... More

Disease eradication represents the ultimate in global equity and the definitive outcome of good public health practice. Thirty years ago, the elimination of smallpox defined disease eradication as a monumental global achievement with lasting benefits for society. Today, the global commitment to eradicate polio and guinea worm, and heightened interest in the potential eradication of other infectious diseases, including measles/rubella, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and malaria, dominate public health concerns. But what does it take to eradicate a disease? This book takes a look at the evolving concepts of disease eradication, influenced by scientific advances, field experience, societal issues, and economic realities. A diverse group of experts from around the world, representing a range of disciplines, examines the biological, social, political, and economic complexities of eradicating a disease. The book details lessons learned from the initiatives against polio, measles/rubella, and onchocerciasis. Further chapters examine ethical issues, the investment case, governance models, organizational and institutional arrangements, political and social factors, the feasibility of eradication goals, priority setting, and the integration of disease eradication programs with existing health systems.Less

Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases: pathogen control and public health management in low-income countries

Benjamin Roche, Hélène Broutin, and Frédéric Simard (eds)

During the last thirty years, the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases has been studied extensively. Understanding how pathogens are transmitted in time and space, how they are evolving ... More

During the last thirty years, the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases has been studied extensively. Understanding how pathogens are transmitted in time and space, how they are evolving according to different selective pressures, and how the environment can influence their transmission, has paved the way for new approaches to the study of host/pathogen interactions. At the same time, pathogen control in low-income countries (LIC) has tended to remain largely inspired and informed by classical epidemiology, where the objective is to treat as many people as possible, despite recent findings in ecology and evolutionary biology suggesting new opportunities for improved disease control in the context of limited economic resources. The need to integrate the scientific developments in ecology and evolution of infectious diseases with public health strategy in low-income countries is clearly as important today as it has ever been. In this book, the authors provide an up to date, authoritative, and challenging review of the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases focusing on low-income countries for effective public health applications and outcomes. Accessible to students and researchers working on evolutionary ecology of infectious diseases and public health scientists working on their control in low-income countries, this book combines chapters exposing fundamental concepts in evolutionary ecology with others exploring the most recent advances in the field as well as highlighting how they can provide new innovative approach on the field. This work is concluded by an integrative chapter signed by all the authors highlighting the key missing points to improve this connection between evolutionary ecology and public health in low-income countries.Less

Epidemiology with R

Bendix Carstensen

This book is a practical guide designed for students and researchers with an existing knowledge of R who wish to learn how to apply it in an epidemiological context and exploit its versatility. It ... More

This book is a practical guide designed for students and researchers with an existing knowledge of R who wish to learn how to apply it in an epidemiological context and exploit its versatility. It also serves as a broader introduction to the quantitative aspects of modern practical epidemiology. The standard tools used in epidemiology are described and the practical use of R for these is explained and laid out. R code examples, many with output, are embedded throughout the text. Epidemiology with R is an advanced textbook suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate students, professional researchers, and practitioners in the fields of human and non-human epidemiology, public health, veterinary science, and biostatistics.Less

Evolutionary Parasitology: The Integrated Study of Infections, Immunology, Ecology, and Genetics

Paul Schmid-Hempel

Over the last decade, principles from evolution and ecology have increasingly been applied to the fields of parasitology and immunology in an attempt to foster a common conceptual framework that uses ... More

Over the last decade, principles from evolution and ecology have increasingly been applied to the fields of parasitology and immunology in an attempt to foster a common conceptual framework that uses a priori principles to unravel the diversity of host–parasite phenomena. This has led to the emergence of some of the most important, highly successful and inter-disciplinary areas of modern biology – the as-yet separated fields of ecological immunology and evolutionary studies of parasitism. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the many facets of host’parasite interactions, from the molecular bases to adaptive strategies and their ecological and evolutionary consequences. It is informed by the very latest progress in the field. No longer do we view well-adapted parasites as becoming ultimately harmless. On the contrary, parasite virulence is determined both by the processes that lead to harm and by the evolutionary costs and benefits of this damage. Similarly, parasitism is no longer regarded as being inevitably deleterious; rather it can be a major factor maintaining diversity in populations and communities, selecting for beautiful plumages of birds, or even making us more social. The book integrates material from a wide range of topics including immunology, genetics, sexual selection, population ecology, behavioural ecology, and evolutionary biology.Less

Evolutionary Parasitology: The Integrated Study of Infections, Immunology, Ecology, and Genetics

Paul Schmid-Hempel

Parasites are ubiquitous and shape almost every aspect of their hosts, including physiology, behaviour, life histories, the structure of the microbiota, and entire communities. Hence, parasitism is ... More

Parasites are ubiquitous and shape almost every aspect of their hosts, including physiology, behaviour, life histories, the structure of the microbiota, and entire communities. Hence, parasitism is one of the most potent forces in nature and, without parasites, the world would look very different. The book gives an overview over the parasite groups and the diversity of defences that hosts have evolved, such as immune systems. Principles of evolutionary biology and ecology analyse major elements of host–parasite interactions, including virulence, infection processes, tolerance, resistance, specificity, memory, polymorphisms, within-host dynamics, diseases spaces, and many other aspects. Genetics is always one of the key elements in these topics. Modelling, furthermore, can predict best strategies for host and parasites. Similarly, the spread of an infectious disease in epidemiology combines with molecular data and genomics. Furthermore, parasites have evolved ways to overcome defences and to manipulate their hosts. Hosts and parasites, therefore, continuously co-evolve, with changes sometimes occurring very rapidly, and sometimes requiring geological times. Many infectious diseases of humans have emerged from a zoonotic origin, in processes governed by the basic principles discussed in the different sections. Hence, this book integrates different fields to study the diversity of host–parasite processes and phenomena. It summarizes the essential topics for the study of evolutionary parasitology and will be useful for a broad audience.Less

Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine

Barry Halliwell and John M. C. Gutteridge

The new edition of this well-established book is thoroughly revised and gives a comprehensive account of the role of free radicals, other reactive species (RS), and antioxidants in life, health, and ... More

The new edition of this well-established book is thoroughly revised and gives a comprehensive account of the role of free radicals, other reactive species (RS), and antioxidants in life, health, and disease. Chapter 1 reviews how oxygen (O2) is used by living organisms, why it can be toxic, and introduces the concept of oxygen radicals and other RS; their chemistry is detailed in Chapter 2, especially for superoxide, hydroxyl radical (including Fenton chemistry), peroxynitrite, nitric oxide, ozone, and singlet O2, with emphasis on their redox properties. Subsequent chapters detail what antioxidants can be made in vivo (e.g. superoxide dismutases, peroxiredoxins) and which can come from diet (e.g. vitamins E and C, carotenoids, and polyphenols such as the flavonoids) and how they work in vivo. The role of RS in cell proliferation, senescence, and death (e.g. by apoptosis, necrosis, or intermediate forms) is presented. Methods for measuring RS are described in detail, including electron paramagnetic resonance and biomarker determination. Useful roles for RS (e.g. cell signalling, phagocyte action), as well as systems in which they cause particular problems (e.g. premature babies, the eye, the ear) are presented. Acute and chronic inflammation are used to illustrate both roles There is a comprehensive description of the role of RS in human diseases, from cancer to heart disease to dementia, in the ageing process, and in the toxicity of many agents, from ethanol to carbon tetrachloride to paraquat. Therapeutic agents active against RS are reviewed in detail, including NADPH oxidase inhibitors, N-acetylcysteine, and Ebselen.Less

Host Manipulation by Parasites

Preface by Richard Dawkins, University of Oxford, UK

David P. Hughes, Jacques Brodeur, and Frédéric Thomas (eds)

Parasites that manipulate the behaviour of their hosts represent striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. This field of study is now moving beyond its descriptive phase and into more ... More

Parasites that manipulate the behaviour of their hosts represent striking examples of adaptation by natural selection. This field of study is now moving beyond its descriptive phase and into more exciting areas where the processes and patterns of such dramatic adaptations can be better understood. This book provides a review of host manipulation by parasites that assesses the current state of developments in the field and lays out a framework for future research. It also promotes a greater integration of behavioural ecology with studies of host manipulation (behavioural ecology has tended to concentrate mainly on behaviour expressed by free living organisms and is far less focused on the role of parasites in shaping behaviour). To help achieve this, the book adopts the approach of having an expert on behavioural ecology (but who does not work directly on parasites) to provide an afterword to each chapter.Less

Human Genetic Diversity: Functional Consequences for Health and Disease

Julian C. Knight

This book describes the remarkable progress which has been made in defining the extent and nature of human genetic variation, and its many consequences for us as individuals and in understanding ... More

This book describes the remarkable progress which has been made in defining the extent and nature of human genetic variation, and its many consequences for us as individuals and in understanding human origins. A mix of cutting-edge and landmark studies are reviewed to provide an overview of the field combined with in-depth analysis of specific informative examples to show how progress has been achieved and likely future directions. The major classes of genetic variation are described, ranging from chromosomal level variation, to submicroscopic structural variation, to fine scale sequence level variation. The substantial progress achieved in defining the genetic basis of diseases is described for both diseases showing Mendelian inheritance and common multifactorial diseases. Efforts to catalogue human genetic variation, insights into genomic disorders, the role of copy number variation, segmental duplications and tandem repeats are highlighted together with progress which has lead to recent success with genome-wide association studies. Other chapters highlight the genetics of gene expression, evidence of selection and susceptibility to diseases such as malaria and HIV infection. Human genetic variation has implications across a broad range of disciplines and this text aims to consolidate work in diverse fields to highlight common themes and principles. To facilitate this the basic principles of human molecular genetics are described throughout the text, which is extensively illustrated.Less

Infectious Disease Ecology of Wild Birds

Jennifer C. Owen, Dana M. Hawley, and Kathryn P. Huyvaert (eds)

Disease ecology is an interdisciplinary field that recognizes that the host–parasite interaction is shaped by the environment and can affect and be affected by the processes that occur across all ... More

Disease ecology is an interdisciplinary field that recognizes that the host–parasite interaction is shaped by the environment and can affect and be affected by the processes that occur across all levels of ecological organization. This book focuses on the dynamics of infectious diseases for wild avian hosts across different scales of biological organization—from within-host processes to landscape-level patterns. Parasite–bird interactions are both influenced by and have consequences for every level of ecological hierarchy, from the physiology, behavior, and evolution of individual hosts up to the complex biotic and abiotic interactions occurring within biological communities and ecosystems. As the most diverse group of extant vertebrates, birds have evolved to utilize every ecological niche on earth, giving them the capacity to serve as a host of pathogens in every part of the world. The diversity of birds is outmatched only by the diversity of the parasite fauna infecting them. Given the overwhelming diversity of both avian hosts and their parasites, we have only scratched the surface regarding the role that pathogens play in avian biology and the role that birds play in the maintenance and spread of zoonotic pathogens. In addition to this understudied diversity, parasite–bird interactions are increasingly occurring in rapidly changing global environments—thus, their ecology is changing—and this shapes the complex ways by which parasites influence the interconnected health of birds, humans, and shared ecosystems. The chapters in this book illustrate that the understanding of these complex and multiscale interactions requires an inherently integrative approach.Less

Infectious Diseases in Primates: Behavior, Ecology and Evolution

Charles Nunn and Sonia Altizer

Recent progress in the field of wildlife disease ecology demonstrates that infectious disease plays a crucial role in the lives of wild animals. Parasites and pathogens should be especially important ... More

Recent progress in the field of wildlife disease ecology demonstrates that infectious disease plays a crucial role in the lives of wild animals. Parasites and pathogens should be especially important for social animals in which high contact among individuals increases the potential for disease spread. As one of the best studied mammalian groups, primates offer a unique opportunity to examine how complex behaviours (including social organization) influence the risk of acquiring infectious diseases, and the defences used by animals to avoid infection. This book explores the correlates of disease risk in primates, including not only social and mating behaviour but also diet, habitat use, life history, geography and phylogeny. The authors examine how a core set of host and parasite traits influence patterns of parasitism at three levels of biological organization: among individuals, among populations, and across species. A major goal is to synthesize, for the first time, four disparate areas of research: primate behavioural ecology, parasite biology, wildlife epidemiology, and the behavioural and immune defences employed by animals to counter infectious disease. Throughout, the authors provide an overview of the remarkable diversity of infectious agents found in wild primate populations. Additional chapters consider how knowledge of infectious diseases in wild primates can inform efforts focused on primate conservation and human health. More generally, this book identifies infectious disease as an important frontier in our understanding of primate behaviour and ecology. It highlights future challenges for testing the links between host and parasite traits, including hypotheses for the effects of disease on primate social and mating systems.Less

Insect Infection and Immunity: Evolution, Ecology, and Mechanisms

Jens Rolff and Stuart Reynolds (eds)

Under continual attack from both microbial pathogens and multicellular parasites, insects must cope with immune challenges every day of their lives. However, this has not prevented them from becoming ... More

Under continual attack from both microbial pathogens and multicellular parasites, insects must cope with immune challenges every day of their lives. However, this has not prevented them from becoming the most successful group of animals on the planet. Insects possess highly-developed innate immune systems which have been fine-tuned by an arms race with pathogens spanning hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history. Recent discoveries are revealing both an unexpected degree of specificity and an indication of immunological memory — the functional hallmark of vertebrate immunity. The study of insect immune systems has accelerated rapidly in recent years and is now becoming an important interdisciplinary field. Furthermore, insects are a phenomenally rich and diverse source of antimicrobial chemicals. Some of these are already being seriously considered as potential therapeutic agents to control microbes such as MRSA. This book provides a coherent synthesis and is structured around two broadly themed sections: mechanisms of immunity and evolutionary ecology. This text adopts an interdisciplinary and concept-driven approach, integrating insights from immunology, molecular biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, parasitology, and epidemiology.Less

Marine Disease Ecology

Donald C. Behringer, Brian R. Silliman, and Kevin D. Lafferty (eds)

Whether through loss of habitat or cascading community effects, diseases can shape the very nature of the marine environment. Despite their significant impacts, studies of marine diseases have tended ... More

Whether through loss of habitat or cascading community effects, diseases can shape the very nature of the marine environment. Despite their significant impacts, studies of marine diseases have tended to lag behind their terrestrial equivalents, particularly with regards to their ecological effects. However, in recent decades global research focused on marine disease ecology has expanded at an accelerating rate. This is due in part to increases in disease emergence across many taxa, but it can also be attributed to a broader realization that the parasites responsible for disease are themselves important members of marine communities. Understanding their ecological relationships with the environment and their hosts is critical to understanding, conserving, and managing natural and exploited populations, communities, and ecosystems. Courses on marine disease ecology are now starting to emerge and this first textbook in the field will be ideally placed to serve them. Marine Disease Ecology is suitable for graduate students and researchers in the fields of marine disease ecology, aquaculture, fisheries, veterinary science, evolution, and conservation. It will also be of relevance and use to a broader interdisciplinary audience of government agencies, NGOs, and marine resource managers.Less

Mathematical Tools for Understanding Infectious Disease Dynamics

Odo Diekmann, Hans Heesterbeek, and Tom Britton

Mathematical modeling is critical to our understanding of how infectious diseases spread at the individual and population levels. This book gives readers the necessary skills to correctly formulate ... More

Mathematical modeling is critical to our understanding of how infectious diseases spread at the individual and population levels. This book gives readers the necessary skills to correctly formulate and analyze mathematical models in infectious disease epidemiology, and is the first treatment of the subject to integrate deterministic and stochastic models and methods. The book fully explains how to translate biological assumptions into mathematics to construct useful and consistent models, and how to use the biological interpretation and mathematical reasoning to analyze these models. It shows how to relate models to data through statistical inference, and how to gain important insights into infectious disease dynamics by translating mathematical results back to biology. This comprehensive and accessible book also features numerous detailed exercises throughout; full elaborations to all exercises are provided. The book covers the latest research in mathematical modeling of infectious disease epidemiology; it integrates deterministic and stochastic approaches; and teaches skills in model construction, analysis, inference, and interpretation.Less

Parasitism and Ecosystems

Frédéric Thomas, François Renaud, and Jean-François Guegan (eds)

Ecologists, epidemiologists, and evolutionary biologists are increasingly aware of the significance of parasites in the study of ecosystems. This book provides a summary of the issues involved as ... More

Ecologists, epidemiologists, and evolutionary biologists are increasingly aware of the significance of parasites in the study of ecosystems. This book provides a summary of the issues involved as well as an overview of the possibilities offered by this research topic, using well-documented case-studies to illustrate the main trends and prospects in this area. This is the first book devoted to the comprehension of both the roles and consequences of pathogens in ecosystems.Less

Pertussis: Epidemiology, Immunology, and Evolution

Pejman Rohani and Samuel Scarpino (eds)

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a respiratory disease caused primarily by infection with the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It remains one of the leading causes of death among vaccine-preventable ... More

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a respiratory disease caused primarily by infection with the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It remains one of the leading causes of death among vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide and recent years have seen its alarming re-emergence in many regions (including the United States and much of Europe), despite sustained high levels of vaccine coverage. The causes of the resurgence remain contentious, in part due to inherent complexities of the pathogen’s biology, in part due to pronounced variation in the treatment and prevention strategies between different countries and regions, and in part due to long-standing disagreement among scientific researchers studying pertussis. This edited volume brings together expert knowledge from disparate fields with the overall aim of synthesizing the current understanding of this critically important, global pathogen. Pertussis: Epidemiology, Immunology, and Evolution is an advanced text suitable for graduate-level students taking courses in evolutionary epidemiology, disease ecology, and evolutionary biology, as well as academics, public health officials, and researchers in these fields. It also offers a very useful introduction to a wider audience of public health practitioners, microbiologists, epidemiologists, medical professionals, and vaccine biologistsLess

The Population Biology of Tuberculosis

Christopher Dye

Despite decades of developments in immunization and drug therapy, tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of human mortality, and no country has successfully eradicated the disease. ... More

Despite decades of developments in immunization and drug therapy, tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of human mortality, and no country has successfully eradicated the disease. Reenvisioning TB from the perspective of population biology, this book examines why the disease is so persistent and what must be done to fight it. Treating TB and its human hosts as dynamic, interacting populations, the book seeks new answers to key questions by drawing on demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolution, and population genetics. It uses simple mathematical models to investigate how cases and deaths could be reduced, and how interventions could lead to TB elimination. It reveals a striking gap between the actual and potential impact of current interventions, especially drug treatment, and suggests placing more emphasis on early case detection and the treatment of active or incipient TB. The book argues that the response to disappointingly slow rates of disease decline is not to abandon long-established principles of chemotherapy, but to implement them with greater vigor. Summarizing epidemiological insights from population biology, the book stresses the need to take a more inclusive view of the factors that affect disease, including characteristics of the pathogen, individuals and populations, health care systems, and physical and social environments. In broadening the horizons of TB research, the book demonstrates what must be done to prevent, control, and defeat this global threat in the twenty-first century.Less

Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases

John M. Drake, Michael Bonsall, and Michael Strand (eds)

Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases is the first comprehensive survey of this rapidly developing field. The chapter topics provide an up-to-date presentation of classical concepts, reviews of ... More

Population Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases is the first comprehensive survey of this rapidly developing field. The chapter topics provide an up-to-date presentation of classical concepts, reviews of emerging trends, synthesis of existing knowledge, and a prospective agenda for future research. The contributions offer authoritative and international perspectives from leading thinkers in the field. The dynamics of vector-borne diseases are far more intrinsically ecological compared with their directly transmitted equivalents. The environmental dependence of ectotherm vectors means that vector-borne pathogens are acutely sensitive to changing environmental conditions. Although perennially important vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue have deeply informed our understanding of vector-borne diseases, recent emerging viruses such as West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, and Zika virus have generated new scientific questions and practical problems. The study of vector-borne disease has been a particularly rich source of ecological questions, while ecological theory has provided the conceptual tools for thinking about their evolution, transmission, and spatial extent.Less

Quantitative Viral Ecology: Dynamics of Viruses and Their Microbial Hosts

Joshua S. Weitz

When we think about viruses we tend to consider ones that afflict humans—such as those that cause influenza, HIV, and Ebola. Yet, vastly more viruses infect single-celled microbes. Diverse and ... More

When we think about viruses we tend to consider ones that afflict humans—such as those that cause influenza, HIV, and Ebola. Yet, vastly more viruses infect single-celled microbes. Diverse and abundant, microbes and the viruses that infect them are found in oceans, lakes, plants, soil, and animal-associated microbiomes. Taking a vital look at the “microscopic” mode of disease dynamics, this book establishes a theoretical foundation from which to model and predict the ecological and evolutionary dynamics that result from the interaction between viruses and their microbial hosts. The book addresses three major questions: What are viruses of microbes and what do they do to their hosts? How do interactions of a single virus–host pair affect the number and traits of hosts and virus populations? How do virus–host dynamics emerge in natural environments when interactions take place between many viruses and many hosts? Emphasizing how theory and models can provide answers, the book offers a cohesive framework for tackling new challenges in the study of viruses and microbes and how they are connected to ecological processes—from the laboratory to the Earth system. The book is an innovative exploration of the influence of viruses in our complex natural world.Less