On Pandemics

Download or read book On Pandemics written by David Waltner-Toews and published by Greystone Books Ltd. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing important information about the coronavirus, this comprehensive, easy-to-follow primer on pandemics, epidemics, and the panics they ignite around the world also shares solutions for a safer, healthier future. “A quiet little gem of understanding in a cacophony of panic and fear.” —Quill & Quire, STARRED review Authored by a leading epidemiologist, this engrossing book answers our questions about animal diseases that jump to humans—called zoonoses—including what attracts them to humans, why they have become more common in recent history, and how we can keep them at bay. Almost all pandemics and epidemics have been caused by diseases that come to us from animals, including SARS, Ebola, and—now—Covid-19. Epidemiologist, veterinarian, and ecosystem health specialist, David Waltner-Toews, gathers the latest research to profile dozens of illnesses in On Pandemics. Chapters are broken into short, dynamic explainers, each one tackling a different disease. Readers will discover: Why zoonotic diseases jump from animals to humans—and why some decide to stick around for good. How governments have responded to pandemics and epidemics throughout history, for better or for worse. The role of climate change, industrialized farming, cultural practices, biodiversity loss, and globalization in making these diseases not only possible, but inevitable outcomes of our modern lifestyles. Coronaviruses, such as those that cause SARS and Covid-19, have likely made bats their home for centuries. Until SARS came along, we didn’t know they were there, nor do we know how many other death-dealing viruses might be living undetected in wildlife. On Pandemics shows the greater impact of animal-borne diseases on our world, and encourages us to re-examine our role in pandemics, if not for our own health, then for the health of our planet. Published originally in 2007 as The Chickens Fight Back: Pandemic Panics and Deadly Diseases that Jump from Animals to Humans, this book has been updated in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Waltner-Toews makes truly entertaining reading.” —Globe and Mail “A page-turner presented with irreverent humour and many hair-raising anecdotes.” —Vitality Magazine

Download or read book Pandemics written by Peter C. Doherty and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pandemics. The word conjures up images of horrific diseases sweeping the globe and killing everyone in their path. But such highly lethal illnesses almost never create pandemics. The reality is deadly serious but far more subtle. In Pandemics: What Everyone Needs to Know®, Peter Doherty, who won the Nobel Prize for his work on how the immune system recognizes virus-infected cells, offers an essential guide to one of the truly life-or-death issues of our age. In concise, question-and-answer format, he explains the causes of pandemics, how they can be counteracted with vaccines and drugs, and how we can better prepare for them in the future. Doherty notes that the term "pandemic" refers not to a disease's severity but to its ability to spread rapidly over a wide geographical area. Extremely lethal pathogens are usually quickly identified and confined. Nevertheless, the rise of high-speed transportation networks and the globalization of trade and travel have radically accelerated the spread of diseases. A traveler from Africa arrived in New York in 1999 carrying the West Nile virus; one mosquito bite later, it was loose in the ecosystem. Doherty explains how the main threat of a pandemic comes from respiratory viruses, such as influenza and SARS, which disseminate with incredible speed through air travel. The climate disruptions of global warming, rising population density, and growing antibiotic resistance all complicate efforts to control pandemics. But Doherty stresses that pandemics can be fought effectively. Often simple health practices, especially in hospitals, can help enormously. And research into the animal reservoirs of pathogens, from SARS in bats to HIV in chimpanzees, show promise for our prevention efforts. Calm, clear, and authoritative, Peter Doherty's Pandemics is one of the most critically important additions to the What Everyone Needs to Know® series. What Everyone Needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press.

Download or read book Pandemics: The Basics written by Elisa Pieri and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-03-11 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an engaging, jargon-free introduction to the threat of global pandemics, offering an overview of the many origins and triggers of pandemic events. It covers the impacts generated by novel infectious disease outbreaks across various dimensions – from social and ethical to medical and political, from media to economic and legal implications. The author discusses the preparedness strategies developed globally, the lessons learned from various outbreaks and the mitigation measures deployed — from quarantine and social distancing to data sharing and surveillance systems — including their unintended impacts. While the risk of global pandemics is certainly intensely debated by the scientific community, and increasingly by policy makers at various levels, the threat is hardly discussed in the public domain. It only permeates the media during crisis events, such as during the SARS outbreak in 2003, the West African Ebola outbreak in 2014–15, and most notably the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic crisis. This book is thus highly timely and topical. It has a global scope, whilst at times zooming in on the implications of pandemic risk and mitigation for the Global North or the Global South. Given the interdisciplinarity of the topic, this book will be of great interest to a wider non-academic audience, as well as students from a range of subjects including politics, sociology, geography, anthropology, and international development, along with entry-level medical students keen to widen their appreciation of the social dimensions of the medical work they set out to conduct.

Download or read book Pandemics written by Robert Green and published by Cherry Lake. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is a pandemic? What diseases are likely to cause a pandemic? How can the spread of a disease be stopped? Find out about how a disease reaches pandemic proportions and start thinking about what people can do to stop the spread of deadly diseases.

Download or read book The Prepper's Guide to Surviving Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Infectious Disease written by William W. Forgey and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has changed how we live our lives, and most likely will do so for years to come. While not exclusively about SARS-CoV-2, The Prepper's Guide to Surviving Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Infectious Disease covers the subject thoroughly and also delves into the massive controversy concerning herd immunity, which vaccines are the most likely to work, the issue of second wave or resurgence caused by school re-openings and other activities, changes in public policy, and numerous other topics.

Download or read book Pandemic Societies written by Alan Petersen and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2024-10-21 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From SARS to Zika, and Ebola to COVID-19, epidemics and pandemics have become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Each outbreak presents new challenges but the responses are often similar. This important book explores the dimensions, dynamics and implications of emerging pandemic societies. Drawing on ideas from sociology and science and technology studies, it sheds new light on how pandemics are socially produced and, in turn, shape societies in areas such as governance, work and recreation, science and technology, education, and family life. It offers pointers to the future of pandemic societies, including the expansion of technologies of surveillance and control, as well as the prospects of social renewal created by economic and social disruption.

Download or read book Transportation Amid Pandemics written by Junyi Zhang and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2022-09-18 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Transportation Amid Pandemics: Practices and Policies is the first reference on pandemics (especially COVID-19) in the context of transport, logistics, and supply chains. This book investigates the relationships between pandemics and transport and evaluates impacts of COVID-19 and effects of policy responses to address them. It explores how to recover from pandemics, reveals governance for immediate policy responses and future innovations, suggests strategies for post-pandemic sustainable and resilient development, shares lessons of COVID-19 policymaking across countries, and discusses how to transform transport systems for a better future. Transportation Amid Pandemics offers transport researchers and policymakers the scientific evidence they need to support their decisions and solutions against pandemics. "Curiosity and research brought me to discover an excellent handbook covering the relations between COVID 19 and the transport reality. It is called "Transportation amid Pandemics –Lessons Learned from COVID-19" and has been published this year. 2022 happens to be the year of the 50th anniversary of the first report to The Club of Rome "The Limits to Growth". The new book covers evidences from all over the world, and offers policy recommendations from a great variety of perspectives". Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker - Represents the collective efforts of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS) - Uniquely deals with intertwined issues of pandemics and transport - Investigates both successful and problematic policy measures - Emphasizes bvidence-based policymaking from cross-sectoral and transdisciplinary perspectives - Transfers lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to future generations