| Description |
xiii, 187 pages ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
As natural as breathing: the flu virus -- Farming and feeding the hungry: plant viruses and human enteroviruses -- Raising cattle and eating meat: rinderpest, measles and mad cow virus -- Slaking our thirst: the cholera bacteria and its toxic viruses -- Weathering storms and droughts: West Nile virus and others alike -- Getting lucky with a faulty gene: escape from simple retroviruses -- Taking chances with sex: the herpes and papova viruses -- Risking death with sex: the AIDS virus -- Warring against humans and other animals: smallpox, monkeypox and alike -- Raiding the wild for delicacies: the sars virus |
| Summary |
"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." |
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"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 |
| Notes |
Formerly CIP. Uk |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 171-184) and index |
| Subject |
Communicable diseases.
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Viruses -- Popular works.
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Viruses.
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Virus diseases.
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| LC no. |
2003021606 |
| ISBN |
0195130340 cloth alkaline paper |
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