Viral fitness : the next SARS and West Nile in the making

Select an Action

Title:

Author:

Goudsmit, Jaap, 1951-

ISBN:

9780195130348

Personal Author:

Goudsmit, Jaap, 1951-

Publication Information:

New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Physical Description:

xiii, 187 p. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Introduction : virus basics and the concept of viral fitness -- 1. As natural as breathing : the flu virus -- 2. Farming and feeding the hungry : plant viruses and human enteroviruses -- 3. Raising cattle and eating meat : rinderpest, measles, and mad cow disease -- 4. Slaking our thirst : the cholera bacteria and its toxic viruses -- 5. Weathering storms and droughts : West Nile virus and others -- 6. Getting lucky with a faulty gene : escape from simple retroviruses -- 7. Taking chances with sex : the herpes and papova viruses -- 8. Risking death with sex : the AIDS virus -- 9. Warring against humans and other animals : smallpox, monkeypox, and others -- 10. Raiding the wild for delicacies : the SARS virus.

Abstract:

"Viruses are a threat to us now more than ever before. AIDS emerged from the rainforest in Africa just a few decades ago and spread at a speed of 15,000 new infections a year. West Nile emerged in New York State in 1999 and spread in less than five years to Canada, Mexico, and nearly the entire continental United States. SARS emerged in 2002 and 2003 in southern China and rapidly spread to Singapore, southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Canada. Also, since September 11, 2001, it is no longer unthinkable that a terrorist would intentionally spread deadly viruses like ebola or smallpox.".

"In this book, Jaap Goudsmit argues that there is no such thing as life without viruses for many reasons, including the fact that many viruses spread without any visible signs, and can hide in animals; that there are too many different species of viruses : that viruses multiply much faster than any animal or plant; and that poor living conditions in impoverished areas like Africa and Asia allow viruses to spread with relative ease."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject Term:

Viruses.

Virus diseases.

Electronic Access:

Table of contents http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip049/2003021606.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168015759273	614.58 G688V 2004	1	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Despite vaccines and medicines, we have not succeeded in eradicating the most poisonous viruses in the world, like jaundice, measles, diarrhea, polio, and AIDS, not to mention newcomers like West Nile and SARS. Also, since September 11, it is no longer unthinkable that a terrorist would intentionally spread a virus among people or the food chain. In this book, Jaap Goudsmit argues that there is no such thing as life without viruses for many reasons; including the fact that many viruses spread without any visible signs, and can hide in animals; that there are too many different species of viruses and they multiply much faster than any animal or plant; and that infections strike especially in areas where life is difficult enough already, such as Africa and Asia. However, Goudsmit continues, if viruses hold onto life so stubbornly, perhaps they can be useful to other living beings. Do viruses offer people a better chance of survival in a hostile world? Do viruses make people fitter? Some viruses seem to play a role in the process whereby our genes adapt to the environment. What is it that makes viruses incredibly strong, and can we learn something from it? What is the secret of the enormous "fitness" of viruses? Will viruses spell the end of mankind or will man always be able to offer resistance? This book attempts to answer these and other questions.