Written primarily for 16-19 year old students, this primer aims to extend students' knowledge and inspire them to take their school-level learning further. It explores topics that are familiar from the curriculum and also introduces new ideas, giving students a first taste of the study of biology beyond school-level and demonstrating how concepts frequently encountered at school are relevant to and applied in current research. This is the ideal text to support
students who are considering making the transition from studying biology at school to university.
Infectious disease will affect most of us at some point in our lives, despite tremendous advances in medicine over the past century. We all still fall ill from pathogens in our everyday environments - but many of us now survive infections which would have proved fatal in the past. Our understanding of the nature of infectious diseases continues to grow - as does our understanding of the human immune system. We continue to develop drugs and public health regimens to attempt to treat or prevent
more and more diseases from causing acute sickness and/or long-term health problems - and indeed, we have been successful at eradicating (or almost eradicating) a number of previously common illnesses over the past fifty years.
This text explores the structure and function of each distinct type of pathogen (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and prion disease), as well as the biochemical processes taking place when an infection is caused by any of these agents. It goes on to look at the role the human immune system plays in preventing, containing and destroying pathogens which enter the human body, using up to date research to ensure that students are abreast of the most recent developments in immunology. The text
also examines the "evolutionary arms race" between human beings and infectious disease, looking at genetic traits which confer protection against some infectious diseases, and how pathogens are constantly changing to work around our defences.
The final section of the primer explores disease prevention and treatment - antibiotics, antivirals and antifungal agents and their mechanisms of action; public health and vaccination; the dangers of antibiotic resistance; and potential sources for new antimicrobial agents around the world.
Online resources
For students:
Online quizzes for each chapter so that students can quickly check their understanding of the key concepts
For teachers:
Artwork from the book in easy-to-download format, for use in class materials and handouts A lovely introduction to human disease, delivered in plain language while using an appropriate level of scientific terms. Although aimed at students transitioning to university study, many of the topics are applicable throughout undergraduate study and beyond. * Jill Hakin, student, Teesside University * I especially appreciated the effort of placing infectious diseases in context (social, political, economic etc.), instead of focusing exclusively on the science behind them. This makes the topic much more dynamic and engaging, as it becomes a real factor influencing our day-to-day life instead of an abstract concept on a page. * Delia Cretu, student, University College London * I would have loved this book in my first year of college. It is a great introduction to the subject and will definitely make students eager to find out more. Reading it reminded me of why I love this subject so much and wish to make a career out of it. * Delia Cretu, student, University College London * The case studies peppered throughout are very valuable for students at this stage they help to introduce skills of scientific reasoning and critical appraisal of scientific research. These are skills that I generally found were not really developed at school but are of course central to university science. * Saeed Kayhanian, University of Cambridge * Overall this book is engaging and fulfils its aim of bridging the gap between school and university science in this subject. It would certainly have been valuable to me at that stage and I did not find anything similar at that time. I would recommend this book to other students. * Saeed Kayhanian, University of Cambridge * This book made things simple and clear to understand, something that is vital for the transitioning to degree level education. The figures and tables are a highlight; they really aid in understanding the text. This is something a lot of textbooks lack, as too much text is off putting for readers, especially those who are visual learners. * Kitty Luck, University of Northampton * In comparison with other resources I have used on a similar topic, it is specific yet concise. Most books on this topic are usually very large and cover much detail. However, this is certainly an advantage as it makes the book very accessible and not overwhelming. I especially like the addition of aspects which causes the reader to think and question the text. The frequent Pause for thought areas work very well. The discussion questions at the end are another aspect
which makes this text stand out from other similar textbooks. * Emma Rengasamy, Cardiff University * This book does a brilliant job of introducing some of the more sophisticated concepts in a concise, yet informative manner. Just from flicking through the book, prior to reading it, there seems to be at least one new image or section on each page, which to me signals that the book will be succinct, and keep my interest. If theres one thing undergrads dont like, its pages and pages of unbroken text! * Beth Richmond, University of Warwick * For a student like me, with no chemistry background, some of the molecular concepts were hard to grasp, but I feel that this book would have made the process so much easier, with its clear, colour-coded diagrams (e.g. Chapter 4 Defending against the invaders, Fig. 4.3), and straight-forward descriptions. * Beth Richmond, University of Warwick * The content is beautifully presented and easy to read, whilst being incredibly informative. Ive had other immunology / infectious disease textbooks in the past which were five times as long, but not nearly as concise and easy to use as this one. This book also contains topics which were still relevant to me in my third-year (e.g. the complement cascade, autoimmune disorders), so its the kind of textbook which will carry you on through your whole degree. * Beth Richmond, University of Warwick * A pleasure to read. It is concise, easy-to-use and written in a straight-forward easy-to-understand manner. I think that it compares well to other textbooks and resources which I have used to study similar topics these topics if not well presented can seem quite dry, and I think that the use of case studies in particular helps to prevent this and keep the content engaging. * Gemma Smith, University of Birmingham * This work is highly successful in providing students with a birds eye view on the subject without compromising the scientific details. It covers the full essence of the field as found in undergraduate bioscience courses. * Jacky Zhao, University of Cambridge * This book provides an excellent, holistic introduction to a variety of infectious diseases and the associated public health considerations. I enthusiastically recommend this title to all aspiring biomedical researchers and liberal arts students who are eager to join this battle against different pathogens for better healthcare tomorrow. * Jacky Zhao, University of Cambridge *
Human Infectious Disease and Public Health
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