Emerging Biological Threats

An engaging nontechnical discussion of the infectious diseases and other biological threats that pose the highest risk to humans presented in the context of relevant environmental and sociological trends.What biological agents should we truly be afraid of? Which have garnered more attention than they warrant? Emerging Biological Threats: A Reference Guide is the antidote for the confusion surrounding the potentially devastating impact of pathogens on the human community. Written by a frontline professional in epidemiology it is the most authoritative yet engagingly written resource available on the real risks we face and the countermeasures used to confront them.Emerging Biological Threats provides the information needed to understand significant direct threats to human health as well as those that impact us indirectly by destroying livestock and crops. Focused primarily on the United States it offers science-based yet accessible explorations of HIV influenza drug-resistant pathogens tuberculosis meningitis and more. In addition the book assesses current predictions about the future spread of various diseases as a result of climate change and overpopulation. The book concludes with chapters on relevant environmental and sociological trends and a discussion of current public health strategy.