American Journal of Epidemiology Advance Access originally published online on March 20, 2008
American Journal of Epidemiology 2008 167(8):1014-1015; doi:10.1093/aje/kwn045
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BOOK REVIEW |
Infectious Disease Epidemiology: Theory and Practice, Second Edition
By Kenrad E. Nelson and Carolyn F. Masters Williams
Women's Global Health Imperative, Research Triangle Institute International, San Francisco, CA 94104-3812
(e-mail: npadian{at}rti.org)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7637-2879-3, ISBN-10: 0-7637-2879-9, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts (Telephone: 978-443-5000, Fax: 978-443-8000, World Wide Web: http://www.jbpub.com), 2007, 1,207 pp., $124.95 (hardcover)
With commendable due diligence to the ever-changing field of infectious diseases, Drs. Nelson and Williams (1) have updated the first edition of their book (2) to reflect new developments such as bioterrorism, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and the epidemiology of several other infections such as West Nile virus and monkey pox. Indeed, they have accomplished an almost impossible task: a far-reaching review of infectious disease epidemiology including state-of-the-art chapters on methodological issues, pathogenesis, and comprehensive reviews of virtually all known infectious diseases. Overall, the book is an excellent synthesis.
Although not a significant drawback, the book suffers a bit from organizational challenges. The general framework consists of two major sections: methodological issues and then epidemiologic reviews of specific infections (further divided as discussed below), clearly a solid platform from which to consider the field. In the Methods section, however, there is a chapter on immunologic response to infection and another on vaccines, as well as one on nosocomial infections and emerging new infectious diseases. Obviously, these topics are not really methods. In addition, many times, more information about a certain method is found in another chapter. For example, the chapter on study design is a bit brief and overly simplistic, yet design is again picked up in the chapter on vaccines (e.g., the randomized controlled clinical trials described for study vaccines are clearly relevant for more than that) and in other chapters as well. In fact, the chapter on vaccines seems more of a primer on methods. Similarly, the chapter on modeling focuses on only one type of model, when other generic models are discussed in the chapter on vaccines and another on sexually transmitted diseases. It might have been stronger to consolidate these sections into individual chapters.
In addition, the second part of the book (reviews of infections) does not follow the classification of diseases spelled out in chapter 2 of Methods: "The Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases: General Principles." Dr. Nelson reviews the various ways in which infections can be classified (e.g., by type of infection, etiology, or mode of transmission). However, the reviews themselves instead follow a heterogeneous classification scheme, mainly by mode of transmission (e.g., airborne, blood-borne, or vector-borne) but also by clinical manifestation (e.g., diarrheal diseases). The organization might also have been strengthened if each infection/disease chapter followed a more or less uniform format (e.g., history, pathogen, epidemiology, special ethologic issues, control).
Furthermore, perhaps in an effort to be concise, complex areas such as that on bias include a detailed list but few definitions. Other examples of areas in need of further explanation are the general descriptions of opportunistic infections (mainly in the surveillance chapter and in the chapter on microbiologic tools) and the section on structural-level behavioral interventions (in the chapter on human immunodeficiency virus). One suggestion here might have been to include a glossary of terms mentioned in some of the chapters but not well defined.
In spite of a comprehensive overview, there are also inevitably some gaps. For example, it is surprising that there is not a separate chapter on statistical methods for infectious diseases. Some of this material is sprinkled in the chapters on nosocomial infection, outbreak epidemiology, vaccines, and geographic information systems. A concentrated overview of these issues with attention to new statistical methods to establish causal mechanisms of disease pathogenesis or adaptive designs and analyses that deviate from the traditional randomized control trials and intent-to-treat analysis would also have been helpful (e.g., marginal structural models or direct-effect analyses). Similarly, only chapter 1 is devoted specifically to behavior (infection and nutrition), with very little on social and cultural determinants of infection (almost entirely in the chapter on human immunodeficiency virus). Finally, in the chapter on molecular epidemiology, there surprisingly is no developed discussion about the importance of resistant infection, for example, tuberculosis or malaria.
All this being said, the major strength of this textbook is the collective expertise and experience of its editors and contributing authors. Given the scope of the field and all of the issues presented, the comprehensive nature of most of the reviews is truly remarkable. Many of the chapters could be books in their own right, including, for example, those on emerging infections and many of the disease-specific chapters such as those on tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus, sexually transmitted diseases, and malaria.
Overall, this is an outstanding textbook for students and scholars of epidemiology and related biomedical fields. In addition, it is a fantastic reference book for the informed lay public who want to learn more about infectious diseases and their epidemiology and control.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Conflict of interest: none declared.
References
- Nelson KE, Masters Williams CF. Infectious disease epidemiology: theory and practice. (2007) 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- Nelson KE, Masters Williams CF, Graham NMH. Infectious disease epidemiology: theory and practice. (2005) Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
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