Harald T. Lutz, Hassen A. Gharbi

Manual of Diagnostic Ultrasound in Infectious Tropical Diseases
Springer | 2005 | ISBN: 3540244468 | Pages: 180

This manual is intended to fill a gap in the range of books on ultrasound diagnosis, concentrating exclusively on the diagnosis of infectious and tropical diseases. The book starts with a short introduction to ultrasound diagnosis. The main part describes and discusses the organ-related changes that can be detected with ultrasound in infectious and inflammatory diseases. The infectious and parasitic diseases that can successfully be diagnosed with ultrasound are presented in more detail. The important potential of interventional ultrasound diagnosis and therapy in infectious diseases is described. This richly illustrated volume has been written by leading experts from all over the world. It is primarily aimed at users of ultrasound diagnostic instruments in tropical and subtropical countries but will be valuable for physicians anywhere in the world confronted with these diseases.

Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales
"Current Topics in Tropical Medicine"
ISBN: 9535102748 | 2012 | 564 pages

Tropical Medicine has emerged and remained as an important discipline for the study of diseases endemic in the tropic, particularly those of infectious etiology. Emergence and reemergence of many tropical pathologies have recently aroused the interest of many fields of the study of tropical medicine, even including new infectious agents. Then evidence-based information in the field and regular updates are necessary. Current Topics in Tropical Medicine presents an updated information on multiple diseases and conditions of interest in the field. It Includes pathologies caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, protozoans and helminths, as well as tropical non-infectious conditions. Many of them are considering not only epidemiological aspects, but also diagnostic, therapeutical, preventive, social, genetic, bioinformatic and molecular ones. With participation of authors from various countries, many from proper endemic areas, this book has a wide geographical perspective. Finally, all of these characteristics, make an excellent update on many aspects of tropical medicine in the world.

Gabriele Halwachs-Baumann
"Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Therapy"
S inger | 2011 | ISBN: 3709102073 | 163 pages

Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common intrauterine transmitted viral infection, with a tremendous impact on fetuses and newborns. In this book the history of this disease, its pathophysiological background, epidemiology and symptoms, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, will be discussed. Since economic aspects are gaining more and more importance in health politics, one chapter is dedicated to this issue in the context of congenital CMV infection. The content is based on the latest scientific findings and written in an understandable manner, allowing persons not working in the field of congenital CMV to also profit from it. Thus, this book is of interest for medical doctors, nurses, midwives, economists, but also for men and women who want to inform themselves about this topic.

Franco Dammacco

"HCV Infection and Cryoglobulinemia"
ISBN: 8847017041 | 2012 | 377 pages

The first observation of cold-induced precipitation of serum proteins dates back to 1933, when Wintrobe and Buell first described an unusual case of multiple myeloma in a woman whose serum reversibly precipitated at cold temperatures. In 1947 Lerner and Watson showed cold-precipitable proteins to be gammaglobulins and called them ‘cryoglobulins’ and the corresponding clinical condition ‘cryoglobulinemia’. Meltzer and Franklin in 1966 provided an accurate description of the typical clinical symptoms associated with cryoglobulinemia, showed that they consisted of two different globulin components and, because of the ignorance on its etiology, called this clinical condition ‘essential mixed cryoglobulinemia’. For almost 20 years progress has been rather slow in this field, but when at the end of the ‘80s it finally became possible to detect the occurrence in the serum of antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), many groups in Europe and the United States almost simultaneously reported that a high proportion of ‘essential’ cryoglobulinemias are in fact associated with HCV infection. This hallmark has resulted in a new impetus and great enthusiasm in carrying out new researches made possible by the awareness that cryoglobulinemia is to be considered an undisputable extrahepatic manifestation of HCV infection. In addition, the evidence that HCV has tropism for hepatocytes and lymphocytes has stimulated new approaches to the autoimmune phenomena and the potential transformation in non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas which not infrequently can be discovered in these patients. The same applies to the obvious therapeutic implications, once the association between HCV infection and mixed cryoglobulinemia has been firmly established. It was thus felt that times were ripe to produce a state-of-the-art survey of the multi-faceted picture of cryoglobulinemia. This book is indeed unique in the detail of its presentation, its completeness and its fundamental approach to the subject. The most qualified authors have been invited to contribute critical articles reviewing significant developments related to each of the eight sections in which the whole treatment has been divided: from basic mechanisms governing interactions between HCV and the immune system to the immunochemical characterization of cryoglobulins and the frequently concomitant serological abnormalities; from genetic features and the role of certain cytokines and chemokines to the cellular compartments of HCV infection and replication; from the clinical manifestations of cryoglobulinemic patients and their potential susceptibility to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma to conventional treatment of the syndrome and the newer, promising therapeutic advances. The reader will appreciate the immediacy of style, the striking illustrations, and the color plates. In addition, the comprehensive review of a systemic disease such as cryoglobulinemia will interest basic scientists and specialists involved in several disciplines, including internal medicine, hepatology, hematology, oncology, infectious diseases, rheumatology, nephrology and dermatology. General practitioners, graduate and post-graduate students will also find in this book an irreplaceable source of update in this fascinating field.

Ellen M. Slaven, Susan C. Stone, Fred A. Lopez
Infectious Diseases: Emergency Department Diagnosis & Management
Published: 2006-08-15 | ISBN: 007143416X | 486 pages

A "Must-Have" reference for every emergency department and for every emergency department physician!
This is the first book on the diagnosis and management of infectious diseases, as they present to the Emergency Department, that's been written specifically for emergency physicians by emergency physicians. These expert authors, working in large urban Emergency Departments, understand the importance of having an authoritative reference at the ready for fast diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases occurring in all body systems.
The expert authors present:
Information selected and organized to meet the daily clinical needs of the emergency physician
Case presentations in every chapter
A Treatment Summary Box in each chapter, with at-a-glance review of recommended drugs and dosages
Considerations of special populations
Full treatment of current issues in infectious disease: bioterrorism (Anthrax, Smallpox, Plague, and Tularemia), sexually transmitted diseases, emerging infections (West Nile Virus, SARS, Hanta-Virus, and Leptospirosis), tick-borne diseases, fever in the returning traveler, and immunizations
Examination of HIV-associated infections in various body systems
Inclusion of TB-associated infections, influenza, CAP and bronchitis, and other lower respiratory tract infections
A close look at central nervous system infections, including meningitis and encephalitis
Guidance for gastrointestinal infections such as hepatitis, infectious diarrhea, and more

Daniel J. Wilson
Polio
Publisher: Greеnwood | 2009-09-23 | ISBN: 0313358974 | 172 pages

This new title in the Biographies of Disease series offers a thorough examination of medical and scientific efforts to battle polio, from the 19th-century identification of the virus to the great 20th-century epidemics, from the unprecedented campaign to find a vaccine to recent efforts to confront polio in West Africa and South Asia and eliminate it entirely.
Beyond the science, "Polio" looks at the effects of the disease on individuals and the United States as a whole. The book gives readers a sense of what it was like to have polio and to recover from it. It also describes how the search for answers to polio led to the rise of one of America's premier medical charities--the March of Dimes--and how modern physical therapy practices emerged alongside the polio epidemics of the 20th century.

P. Dileep Kumar
Rabies
Publisher: Grеenwood | 2008-11-30 | ISBN: 0313345244 | PDF

Diseases have a history, and understanding that history helps us understand how best to treat and control disease today. Today's students are confronted with a panoply of often-frightening illnesses and afflictions - the Biography of Diseases series provides students with the information that they need to understand the origin of various maladies, how they impact contemporary society, and how doctors and diseases researchers from around the world are fighting to devise treatments to alleviate or cure these. This volume, Rabies, examines that disease that caused fear and panic for centuries because of the horror of dying of rabies and the near certainty of death once one has contracted the disease. And despite the famous vaccine discovered by Louis Pasteur in the 19th centuries, thousands still die of rabies every year in developing countries.

Allison Abendroth

"Varicella-zoster Virus (Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology)"
Publisher: Springer | 2010 | ISBN 3642127274 | 360 pages

Varicella-zoster virus is a common human pathogen that causes varicella (chickenpox), establishes latency in sensory nerve ganglia and can reactivate many years later as herpes zoster. Although the VZV genome is the smallest of the human herpesviruses, VZV genes encode at least 70 proteins. Molecular epidemiologic approaches based on genomic sequencing have documented the global distribution of VZV in distinct clades that reflect patterns of human migration. Contemporary molecular methods are making it possible to dissect how VZV gene products support the viral life cycle, including those that are necessary for viral replication, virion assembly and egress as well as those that permit take over of the host cell by modulating cell cycle regulation, survival and intrinsic antiviral responses. Progress is also being made in understanding the events in VZV pathogenesis and the viral tropisms for keratinocytes, T cells, dendritic cells and neurons during primary infection, latency and reactivation and the innate and adaptive host responses that modulate these events. New insights about molecular virology and pathogenesis have emerged from comparative studies of VZV and simian varicella virus. VZV is the only human herpesvirus for which vaccines to prevent both primary and recurrent infection are approved and VZV vaccines have had significant public health benefits. These achievements and new directions that are unfolding are described in this review of VZV basic and clinical research

Jeffrey Sfakianos, Alan Hecht
West Nile Virus (Deadly Diseases and Epidemics)
Publisher: Chеlsea Hоuse Рublications (2nd edition) | 2009-11-30 | ISBN: 160413254X | 124 pages

In 1999, a deadly strain of West Nile virus struck parts of the northeastern United States. Caused by a virus from the family Flaviridae, genus Flavivirus, the disease was common in Africa and the Middle East. Today, it can be found across North America, Europe, and Asia. West Nile can cause serious illness, and in severe cases, lead to encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, which can be fatal. This revised edition of "West Nile Virus" contains new illustrations and up-to-date information, and takes a look at the origins of this disease, how it is transmitted, how it is treated, and what measures are being taken to combat it. Updates to this edition include expanded information on West Nile virus strains and genetic sequencing of the virus, as well as the latest outbreak statistics and a section discussing recent efforts to create a West Nile virus vaccine. Chapters of this title include: The West Nile Panic; A Virus Transmitted by Mosquitoes; How West Nile Virus Causes Disease; Diagnosis and Treatment of West Nile Virus; and Vaccines and Prevention.
Chapters include:
The West Nile Panic
A Virus Transmitted by Mosquitoes
How West Nile Virus Causes Disease
Diagnosis and Treatment of West Nile Virus
Vaccines and Prevention.

Deadly Diseases and Epidemics -  Diphtheria
Publisher: Chelsea House Publications | Language: English | ISBN:1604132280 | 120 pages | Dat a: 2009

Description: Although the earliest accounts of diphtheria date back at least 2,000 years, this disease was first associated with major epidemics in Europe during the 16th century. By the 18th century, diphtheria became a major cause of childhood illness and death in the New World. With the advent of widespread vaccination in the 1920s, the number of cases and deaths dropped dramatically. However, in areas where vaccination rates drop, diphtheria can rapidly become reestablished, as seen in the late 1990s in several former Soviet republics. Diphtheria is a bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which attacks the respiratory system. "Diphtheria" describes the disease, the bacteria that causes it, and the development of effective treatments. Chapters of this title include: History of Diphtheria; How Does Corynebacterium Diphtheriae Cause Disease; How Is Diphtheria Treated; How Is Diphtheria Prevented; Resurgence of Diphtheria in the Former Soviet Union; and, Uses of Diphtheria Toxin.