Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Prologue
- 1 African trypanosomes and their VSGs
- 2 Malaria: the real killer
- 3 The HIV–AIDS vaccine and the disadvantage of natural selection: the yellow fever vaccine and the advantage of artificial selection
- 4 Lyme disease: a classic emerging disease
- 5 The discovery of ivermectin: a ‘crapshoot’, or not?
- 6 “You came a long way to see a tree”
- 7 Infectious disease and modern epidemiology
- 8 The ‘unholy trinity’ and the geohelminths: an intractable problem?
- 9 Hookworm disease: insidious, stealthily treacherous
- 10 The spadefoot toad and Pseudodiplorchis americanus: an amazing story of two very aquatic species in a very dry land
- 11 The schistosomes: split-bodied flukes
- 12 Dicrocoelium dendriticum and Halipegus occidualis: their life cycles and a genius at work
- 13 Trichinosis and Trichinella spp. (all eight of them, or is it nine?)
- 14 Phylogenetics: a contentious discipline
- 15 Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis neurona, and Neospora caninum: the worst of the coccidians?
- Summary
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Prologue
- 1 African trypanosomes and their VSGs
- 2 Malaria: the real killer
- 3 The HIV–AIDS vaccine and the disadvantage of natural selection: the yellow fever vaccine and the advantage of artificial selection
- 4 Lyme disease: a classic emerging disease
- 5 The discovery of ivermectin: a ‘crapshoot’, or not?
- 6 “You came a long way to see a tree”
- 7 Infectious disease and modern epidemiology
- 8 The ‘unholy trinity’ and the geohelminths: an intractable problem?
- 9 Hookworm disease: insidious, stealthily treacherous
- 10 The spadefoot toad and Pseudodiplorchis americanus: an amazing story of two very aquatic species in a very dry land
- 11 The schistosomes: split-bodied flukes
- 12 Dicrocoelium dendriticum and Halipegus occidualis: their life cycles and a genius at work
- 13 Trichinosis and Trichinella spp. (all eight of them, or is it nine?)
- 14 Phylogenetics: a contentious discipline
- 15 Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis neurona, and Neospora caninum: the worst of the coccidians?
- Summary
- Index
Summary
Any book of the present sort requires a large number of sources, and I sought as many as I could. First, there were those folks who took the time to sit and talk with me. Without exception, they all opened up and answered every question I asked. But far more than this, they helped lead me into areas that I did not know about or might not have otherwise probed. Second, I want to thank them for all of the reprints they generously provided so that I could ‘bone up’ on their areas of interest before the interview was consummated. Third, there are several books that describe the fascinating history of parasitology. I am confident I have given appropriate credit for all that I used as I went along. There are, however, several special authors and books that I want to emphasize and from which I drew invaluable information. These of course include Bob Desowitz and all of his popular tomes, but especially those that dealt with the history of malaria and its treatment, primarily The Malaria Capers. Mark Honigsbaum's The Fever Trail was an extraordinary account of the history of quinine and the cinchona tree from which this herbal remedy comes. It should be read by anyone with an interest in malaria. I also read a large number of general historical accounts dealing with our discipline. The best was A History of Human Helminthology, by D. I. Grove.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Parasites and Infectious DiseaseDiscovery by Serendipity and Otherwise, pp. vii - xPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007