American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 154, No. 2 : 188-189
Copyright © 2001 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
BOOK REVIEWS |
Infectious Disease Epidemiology: Theory and Practice Kenrad E. Nelson, Carolyn Masters Williams, and Neil M. H. Graham, editors
1 School of Public Health University of California at Berkeley Stockton, California
Infectious Disease Epidemiology: Theory and Practice is a valuable addition to the library of anyone who has an interest in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. This textbook can serve as a first-line reference for all of the newer tools and methods needed to better understand the epidemiology of infectious disease agents. Professor Nelson and his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health are to be congratulated for putting together this much-needed text.
Traditional methods and basic tools for understanding infectious disease epidemiology (surveillance, study design, and outbreak investigation) are succinctly and capably covered in the first few chapters. All of the major infectious diseases of interest and importance in the United States are included, along with a few diseases of importance in developing countries (malaria and helminth infections). The chapters on newer tools and methods for studying the epidemiology of infectious diseases are of particular interest and value to students and even to long-standing public health workers interested in or responsible for the public health management of infectious diseases. It is essential that infectious disease professionals be familiar with the application of these newer methods in microbiology and molecular biology in addition to such techniques as geographic mapping.
The chapter "Emerging and New Infectious Diseases" is a nice review of the many "new" infectious diseases that have been detected over the past few decades. The summary of new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease presents a well-balanced picture of the past, present, and possible future of this emergent disease. However, it was surprising that this chapter presented only a scant page on the topic of bioterrorism. Perhaps this relative neglect of the potential importance of infectious disease agents used for bioterrorism might be taken care of in the next edition of this textbook.
The chapter that reviews the epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) provided an excellent update on the laboratory, clinical, and treatment aspects of HIV/AIDS in the developed world. However, this chapter devoted almost two pages to HIV transmission by blood, blood products, and organ transplantation and less than a page to social and cultural factors. The author's clinical and laboratory bias is evident in his conclusion that, "The ultimate control or elimination of HIV infection and AIDS will occur only through the synergy of research efforts among the pharmaceutical industry, the government and academia" (1
, p. 557).
In contrast to this viewpoint, the preface of this textbook included the following statement: "Another critically important knowledge base needed by the modern infectious disease epidemiologist is that of human behavior. Many of the modern emerging infectious diseases rely on human behavior for their persistence and spread. Certainly, HIV is a prime example" (1, p. xvi). In addition, the author of the chapter on sexually transmitted diseases states at the beginning of the chapter that, "Unique in the infectious disease world, STDs are completely dependent on behavioral factors for transmission" (2, p. 611). Again, in the chapter's conclusions, he states that one of the primary interventions is "...reducing the potential for exposure through modifying risky behavior patterns and primary STD prevention" (1, p. 643). Perhaps the next edition of this text will include a chapter on the epidemiology of modifying human risk behaviors!
The chapter "Mathematical Modeling: the Dynamics of Infection" was, in my opinion, not well balanced. It is well written, but after a very short and cursory introduction to infectious disease modeling, most of the rest of the chapter is spent on a detailed description of the standardized incidence ratio model, followed again by a very short and cursory description of other infectious disease models.
These "disagreements" on the perspective and balance of a few chapters do not detract from my overall impression of this new textbook: It is a well-written and needed addition to the library of anyone interested in or working in the prevention and control of infectious or communicable diseases. With the rapid changes and advancement of new technologies in the field of biomedical science and the potential emergence or reemergence of infectious diseases, I, for one, will eagerly seek out the next edition of this textbook.
NOTES
ISBN 0-8342-1766-X, Aspen Publishers, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD (Telephone: 301-417-7500, Fax: 301-695-7931), 2001, 768 pp., hardcover $83.00
REFERENCES
- Nelson KE, Williams CM. Graham NMH. Infectious disease epidemiology: theory and practice. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers, Inc, 2000.
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