Evolution of Infectious Disease

by Paul W. Ewald

Book Overview

Findings from the field of evolutionary biology are yielding dramatic insights for health scientists, especially those involved in the fight against infectious diseases. This book is the first in-depth presentation of these insights. In detailing why the pathogens that cause malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and AIDS have their special kinds of deadliness, the book shows how efforts to control virtually all diseases would benefit from a more thorough...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195111397
• ISBN13: 9780195111392
• Release Date: October 1996
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Beginning of Evolutionary Medicine

Paul Ewald is the true founder and father of evolutionary medicine. Instead of being a physician, like authors of many of the current books on evolutionary medicine, he is a true evolutionary biologist who has an intimate knowledge of natural selection. This is the book that started the field and is a must read for anyone interested in the field and any medical professional.

Informative and Thought Provoking

If Plague Time can be considered to be "Evolutionary Epidemiology for Dummies", then Evolution of Infectious Disease is the technical foundation behind the ideas presented in that other work. Ewald builds this foundation by showing that evolutionary causes are behind many diseases plaguing mankind today. He also takes great care in pointing out how crafting treatment programs with evolutionary factors in mind would likely control these scourges. By presenting the information in this manner, Ewald gives his audience with a workable plan to control disease that bypasses many of the shortfalls associated with conventional medicine.Evolution of Infectious Disease has already been called a milestone in the history of epidemiology. It is easy to understand why. The ideas presented in the book are revolutionary; the level of research to support them is impeccable; and they are conveyed in a manner which is both accessible and applicable. Given these qualities, it is no surprise that Evolution of Infectious Disease is now recognized as an essential text for understanding and combating disease.

A Pathogen's Survival Manual

Paul W. Ewald is a professor of biology at Amherst College. He was the first recipient of the George E. Burch Fellowship in Theoretic Medicine and Affiliated Sciences. He conceived a new discipline called 'evolutionary epidemiology,' and "Evolution of Infectious Disease (1994)" is widely acknowledged as the watershed event for the emergence of this discipline, although I haven't yet seen many references to it ("Parasite Rex" by Carl Zimmer is an exception). This is a shame, because "Evolution of Infectious Disease" explains many medical mysteries, such as why people with multiple sex partners tend to harbor a more virulent version of AIDS, and why the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918 killed so many people (20 to 100 million).'Darwinian medicine' is the science of trying to find evolutionary explanations for vulnerabilities to disease. A pathogen can survive in a population, explains Ewald, only if it can easily transmit its progeny from one host to another. One way to do this is to take a long time to disable a host, giving him plenty of time to come into contact with other potential victims. This would cause selection for a beneficial form of the disease. If the disease can pass quickly from one host to another, it will select for virulence in order to infect more hosts. Therefore if host-to-host passage can be delayed (by screened windows in the case of malaria), the disease will select for longevity---it makes no evolutionary sense to kill a host before the disease can be passed on.Some diseases such as Ebola Fever kill the host too quickly, which is why Ewald believes this particular infection will not become pandemic. On the other hand the HTLV (human T Cell leukemia/lymphoma) viruses might very well increase in virulence and cause another pandemic like AIDS, since they are hosted and transmitted very much like AIDS. Ewald turns many of my preconceptions about disease upside down in this book, which is one reason why it is so fascinating.If you have any interest at all in epidemiology or any concern about our 'once and future' plagues, read this book!This author has also written "Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancers, Heart Disease, and Other Deadly Ailments."

Enormously Satisfying and Rich book.....

This was one of the most intellectually exciting books I have read in a long time. Ewald covers biochemistry, history, social policy, medicine, and academic research in a wonderfully thoughtful, logical, innovative and exciting 'new' way of looking at germ theory. I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend this book as an excellent contribution to scientific literacy, intelligent conversation, and global health policy. (...)Happy Reading!

An excellent review of a timely subject

This is an excellent review of the application of evolution theory to understanding disease. Lacking the melodrama of Garrett's "The Coming Plague," it presents a comprehensive view of how to understand disease evolution. The analyses are clear and the data fascinating. A gold mine of dissertation subjects.