A maddened creature, frothing at the mouth, lunges at an innocent victim—and with a bite, transforms its prey into another raving monster. It's a scenario that underlies our darkest tales of supernatural horror, but its power derives from a very real virus, a deadly scourge known to mankind from our earliest days. In this fascinating exploration, journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy chart four thousand years in the

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Scientists agree that a pathogen is likely to cause a global pandemic in the near future. But which one? And how? Over the past fifty years, more than three hundred infectious diseases have either newly emerged or reemerged. Ninety percent of epidemiologists expect that one of them will cause a deadly pandemic sometime in the next two generations. It could be Ebola, avian flu, a drug-resistant superbug, or something completely new. While we can't...

In 2008 it was believed that HIV/AIDS was without doubt the worst epidemic to hit humankind since the Black Death. The first case was identified in 1981; by 2004 it was estimated that about 40 million people were living with the disease, and about 20 million had died. Yet the outlook today is a little brighter. Although HIV/ AIDS continues to be a pressing public health issue the epidemic has stabilised globally, and it has become evident it is not,...

What causes mental illness? Traditionally, we've blamed bad parenting, stress, trauma, genetics, and brain-chemistry imbalances. But in recent years, a new theory has quietly achieved critical mass. In her astonishing new book, author Harriet Washington reveals that many instances of schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's, Tourette's, bipolar disorder, and anorexia are likely caused by bacteria, parasites, or viruses. That's right--you...

"The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth--from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I. In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal...

"Accurate estimation, diagnosis, and prevention of COVID-19 is a global challenge for healthcare organizations. Innovative measures can introduce and implement AI, and Mathematical Modeling applications. This book provides insight into the recent advances of applications, statistical methods, and mathematical modeling for the healthcare industry. This book covers the state-of-the-art applications of AI and Machine Learning in past epidemics, pandemics,...

Mathematical Methods in Medical and Biological Sciences presents mathematical methods for computational models arising in the medical and biological sciences. The book presents several real-life medical and biological models, such as infectious and non-infectious diseases that can be modeled mathematically to accomplish profound research in virtual environments when the cost of laboratory expenses is relatively high. It focuses on mathematical techniques...