This volume focuses on Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs), a special class of infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics in which the combined capacity of the world's private and government resources becomes severely strained. These events, of which the 1918 influenza pandemic is emblematic, cause severe disruptions in the normal functioning of the world, exact heavy tolls in terms of morbidity and mortality, and lead to major economic losses. GCBRs can be caused by any type of microorganism, and myriad contextual factors can influence their impact. Additionally, there are cascading questions that arise in connection with GCBR prediction, preparation, and response. This book gathers contributions from thought leaders who discuss the multi-faceted approaches needed in order to address this problem. From understanding the special characteristics of various microbes to financing challenges, the volume provides an essential primer on a neglected but highly relevant topic. Physicians, scientists, policymakers, public health practitioners and anyone with an interest in the field of pandemics, emerging infectious disease, biosecurity, and global health security will find it a valuable and insightful resource.

In the second edition of An Introduction to the Geography of Health, Helen Hazen and Peter Anthamatten explore the ways in which geographic ideas and approaches can inform our understanding of health. The book's focus on a broad range of physical and social factors that drive health in places and spaces offers students and scholars an important holistic perspective on the study of health in the modern era. In this edition, the authors have restructured the book to emphasize the theoretical significance of ecological and social approaches to health. Spatial methods are now reinforced throughout the book, and other qualitative and quantitative methods are discussed in greater depth. Data and examples are used extensively to illustrate key points and have been updated throughout, including several new extended case studies such as water contamination in Flint, Michigan; microplastics pollution; West Africa's Ebola crisis; and the Zika epidemic. The book contains more than one hundred figures, including new and updated maps, data graphics, and photos. The book is designed to be used as the core text for a health geography course for undergraduate and lower-level graduate students and is relevant to students of biology, medicine, entomology, social science, urban planning, and public health.

This text presents epidemiologic methods for studying injuries and evaluating interventions to prevent them. It explains how to formulate research questions, the sources of reliable and valid data, and the best choice of research methods. The difficulties of applying rates and ratios to the evaluation of programs are discussed, and the use of economic concepts and policy analysis is covered. It provides specific objectives for research in the various stages of injury control planning and implementation, including the types of data needed to reach the objectives. This third edition is fully updated throughout with new studies used as discussion examples. The chapters have been reorganised into more precise topic areas, for ease of reference.

Viruses do not behave as other microbes; their life cycles require infecting healthy cells, commandeering their cellular apparatus, replicating and then killing the host cell. Methods for virus detection and identification have been developed only in the past few decades. These recently developed methods include molecular, physical, and proteomic techniques. All these approaches (Electron Microscopy, Molecular, Direct Counting, and Mass Spectrometry Proteomics) to detection and identification are reviewed in this succinct volume. It is written in approachable language with enough detail for trained professionals to follow and want to recommend to others. Key Features Covers common detection methods Reviews the history of detection from antiquity to the present Documents the strengths and weaknesses of various detection methods Describes how to detect newly discovered viruses Recommends specific applications for clinical, hospital, environmental, and public health uses

Striking a balance between theory, application, and programming, Biostatistics in Public Health Using STATA is a user-friendly guide to applied statistical analysis in public health using STATA version 14. The book supplies public health practitioners and students with the opportunity to gain expertise in the application of statistics in epidemiologic studies. The book shares the authors' insights gathered through decades of collective experience teaching in the academic programs of biostatistics and epidemiology. Maintaining a focus on the application of statistics in public health, it facilitates a clear understanding of the basic commands of STATA for reading and saving databases. The book includes coverage of data description, graph construction, significance tests, linear regression models, analysis of variance, categorical data analysis, logistic regression model, poisson regression model, survival analysis, analysis of correlated data, and advanced programming in STATA. Each chapter is based on one or more research problems linked to public health. Additionally, every chapter includes exercise sets for practicing concepts and exercise solutions for self or group study. Several examples are presented that illustrate the applications of the statistical method in the health sciences using epidemiologic study designs. Presenting high-level statistics in an accessible manner across research fields in public health, this book is suitable for use as a textbook for biostatistics and epidemiology courses or for consulting the statistical applications in public health. For readers new to STATA, the first three chapters should be read sequentially, as they form the basis of an introductory course to this software.

It is impossible to reflect on 2020 without discussing Covid-19. The term, literally meaning corona-(CO) virus (VI) disease (D) of 2019, has become synonymous with "the virus", "corona" and "the pandemic". The impact of the virus on our lives is unprecedented in modern human history, in terms of scale, depth and resilience. When compared to other epidemics that have plagued the world in recent decades, Covid-19 is often referred to as being much more "deadly" and is associated with advances in technology which scientists have described as "revolutionary". From politics to economics, spanning families and continents, Covid-19 has unsettled norms: cultural clashes are intensified, politics are even more polarized, and regional tensions and conflicts are on the rise. Global trade patterns and supply chains are increasingly being questioned and redrawn. The world is being atomized, and individuals are forced to accept the "new normal" in their routines. In an attempt to combat the virus and minimize its detrimental effects, countries have undertaken different preventive strategies and containment policies. Some have successfully curbed the spread of Covid-19, while many others remain in limbo, doing their best to respond to outbreaks in cases. To gain a better understanding of how to fight Covid-19, it is imperative to evaluate the success and failures of these approaches. Under what conditions is an approach successful? When should it be avoided? How can this information be used to avoid future pandemics? This volume offers informative comparative case studies that shed light on these key questions. Each country case is perceptively analyzed and includes a detailed timeline, allowing readers to view each response with hindsight and extrapolate the data to better understand what the future holds. Taken as a whole, this collection offers invaluable insight at this critical juncture in the Covid-19 pandemic.

APOLLO'S ARROW offers a riveting account of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on American society as it unfolded in 2020, and on how the recovery will unfold in the coming years. Drawing on a combination of fascinating case studies and cutting-edge research from a range of scientific disciplines, bestselling author, physician, and sociologist Nicholas Christakis explores what it means to live in a time of plague -- an experience that is paradoxically uncommon to the vast majority of humans who are alive, yet deeply fundamental to our species as a whole. Unleashing new divisions in our society and new opportunities for cooperation, this 21st century pandemic has upended our society in ways that will test, but not vanquish, our already frayed culture's capacity to endure and thrive. Featuring many novel, provocative arguments and vivid examples ranging across medicine, history, sociology, epidemiology, data science, and genetics, APOLLO'S ARROW envisions what happens when the great force of a deadly germ meets the enduring reality of our evolved social nature.

Understanding the underlying principles of statistical techniques and effectively applying statistical methods can be challenging for researchers at all stages of their career. This concise, practical guide uses a simple, engaging approach to take scientists and clinicians working in laboratory-based life science and medical research through the steps of choosing and implementing appropriate statistical methods to analyse results. The author draws on her extensive experience of advising students and researchers over the past 30 years, breaking down complex concepts into easy-to-understand units. Practical examples using free online statistical tools are included throughout, with illustrations and diagrams employed to keep jargon to a minimum. Sample size calculations and considerations are covered in depth, and the book refers to types of data from experiments that clinicians and lab-based scientists are likely to encounter. Straightforward, accessible and encouraging throughout, this is a go-to reference for researchers who want to achieve statistical autonomy.

Social capital is a widely acknowledged candidate for implementing beneficial democratic processes and promoting public health. Healthy ties. Social capital, population health and survival traces the path from the conceptualization to the implementation of social capital. To provide empirical proof of the effects of social capital on public health is a serious challenge and the main focus of the book. In the Nordic countries, personal identification codes linking data from various sources, nation-wide population registers, nationally representative and re-tested health surveys, and the long tradition of epidemiology submit to serve well the research into social capital and public health. Up-to-date longitudinal data on social capital and health outcomes are carefully described and reviewed in this book. In Finland, the Swedish-speaking minority is very long-lived and has better health as compared with the Finnish-speaking majority.

In this second edition of Infectious Diseases and Arthropods, Jerome Goddard summarizes the latest thinking about the biological, entomological, and clinical aspects of the major vector-borne diseases around the world. His book covers mosquito-, tick-, and flea-borne diseases, and a variety of other miscellaneous vector-borne diseases, including Chagas' disease, African sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, scrub typhus, and louse-borne infections. The author provides for each disease a description of the vector involved, notes on its biology and ecology, distribution maps, and general clinical guidelines for treatment and control. Among the diseases fully discussed are malaria, dengue and yellow fevers, lymphatic filariasis, spotted fevers, ehrlichiosis, lyme disease, tularemia, and plague. Other arthropod-caused or related problems-such as myiasis, imaginary insect or mite infestations, and arthropod stings and bites-are also treated.
At a time when vector-borne diseases are spreading ever more widely, Infectious Diseases and Arthropods provides physicians, infectious disease specialists, medical entomologists, and public health officials with an up-to-date, readily accessible, gold-standard reference source.

This book describes the molecular biology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, and potential strategies for control of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection. It offers insight into the structure and functions of CHIKV proteins as they relate to host response, interaction with the arthropod vector, and vaccination. A detailed account of both the epidemiological outlook and the clinical syndrome of CHIKV infection is provided. The complex host-virus interaction and the signaling pathways that mediate such interactions are also covered. Throughout the book, graphics and charts are used to provide stimulating discussion on important findings in the field of chikungunyalogy. The chapters are written with a global perspective by experts of CHIKV from around the world. This project is especially significant given that CHIKV is a pathogen of worldwide public health concern. Although the presence of CHIKV infection is not global yet, worldwide dissemination is predicted in the future due largely to the lack of effective treatment/therapy, efficient control of transmission, and knowledge about mechanisms of pathogenesis. Additionally, globalization of CHIKV is predicated on its mode of dissemination (mosquito vector) and cross border travel and migration.

This book is a compilation of some of the most remarkable contributions made by scientists currently working in Latin America to the understanding of virus biology, the pathogenesis of virus-related diseases, virus epidemiology, vaccine trials and antivirals development. In addition to recognizing the many fine virologists working in Latin America, Human Virology in Latin America also discusses both the state-of-the-art research and the current challenges that are being faced in the region, in hopes of inspiring young scientists worldwide to become eminent virologists.

This book focuses on statistical methods for the analysis of discrete failure times. Failure time analysis is one of the most important fields in statistical research, with applications affecting a wide range of disciplines, in particular, demography, econometrics, epidemiology and clinical research. Although there are a large variety of statistical methods for failure time analysis, many techniques are designed for failure times that are measured on a continuous scale. In empirical studies, however, failure times are often discrete, either because they have been measured in intervals (e.g., quarterly or yearly) or because they have been rounded or grouped. The book covers well-established methods like life-table analysis and discrete hazard regression models, but also introduces state-of-the art techniques for model evaluation, nonparametric estimation and variable selection. Throughout, the methods are illustrated by real life applications, and relationships to survival analysis in continuous time are explained. Each section includes a set of exercises on the respective topics. Various functions and tools for the analysis of discrete survival data are collected in the R package discSurv that accompanies the book.

Growing public awareness of environmental hazards has increased the demand for investigations into the geographical distribution of disease. Data resulting from studies is not always straightforward to interpret and An Introductory Guide to Disease Mapping aims to explain the basic principles underlying the construction and analysis of disease maps.

• An introduction to new developments in disease mapping
• Comprehensive coverage of an active area of research and development
• Numerous case studies to highlight the application of the techniques discussed

This research monograph provides a synthesis of a number of statistical tests and measures, which, at first consideration, appear disjoint and unrelated. Numerous comparisons of permutation and classical statistical methods are presented, and the two methods are compared via probability values and, where appropriate, measures of effect size. Permutation statistical methods, compared to classical statistical methods, do not rely on theoretical distributions, avoid the usual assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance, and depend only on the data at hand. This text takes a unique approach to explaining statistics by integrating a large variety of statistical methods, and establishing the rigor of a topic that to many may seem to be a nascent field in statistics. This topic is new in that it took modern computing power to make permutation methods available to people working in the mainstream of research. lly-informed="" audience,="" and="" can="" also="" easily="" serve="" as="" textbook="" in="" graduate="" course="" departments="" such="" statistics,="" psychology,="" or="" biology.="" particular,="" the="" audience="" for="" book="" is="" teachers="" of="" practicing="" statisticians,="" applied="" quantitative="" students="" fields="" medical="" research,="" epidemiology,="" public="" health,="" biology.

This book is an in-depth guide to effective scientific research. Ranging from the philosophical to the practical, it explains at the outset what science can - and can't - achieve, and discusses its relationship to mathematics and laws. The author then pays extensive attention to the scientific method, including experimental design, verification, uncertainty and statistics. A major aim of the book is to help young scientists reflect upon the deeper aims of their work and make the best use of their talents in contributing to progress. To this end, it also includes sections on planning research, on presenting one's findings in writing, as well as on ethics and the responsibilities of scientists.

This book describes the demographic and clinical patterns of Zika infection and evaluates the risk of it spreading to Europe. It reflects the hands-on experience of the author, who as a physician, was faced with the first-ever cases reported in Europe. Providing essential background information on the viral vector, it addresses the various symptoms after infection, and places them in the epidemiological context of past outbreaks. The book addresses the needs of physicians attending patients with infectious diseases, including infectious-disease specialists, pediatricians, internal medicine specialists, general practitioners, obstetricians, tropical medicine and travel medicine specialists, preventive medicine and public health specialists, microbiologists, biologists and vectorial control specialists. It raises clinicians' and travel health clinics' awareness of the evolution of Zika virus outbreaks and the affected areas so that they can include this infection in their differential diagnoses for travelers from those areas.

Free of unwieldy mathematics, Statistical Models for Causal Analysis provides a lucid introduction to statistical models used in the social and biomedical sciences, particularly those models used in the causal analysis of nonexperimental data. Featuring an approach that focuses on model specification and interpretation, this innovative work-designed specifically for students and professionals in need of a working knowledge of the subject - is a practice-oriented guide to learning how to use these models in analytical work. Based on a highly successful classroom course, Statistical Models for Causal Analysis includes computer programs implementable on either mainframe computers or microcomputers as well as examples taken from an actual population study. The book provides not only a clear understanding of principles of model construction but also a working knowledge of how to implement these models using real data. Topics covered are bivariate linear regression, multiple regression, multiple classification analysis, path analysis, logit regression, multinomial logit regression, survival models (including proportional hazard models and hazard models with time dependence). While omitting a good deal of difficult mathematics, such as derivations of sampling distributions and standard errors, the book nonetheless provides a rigorous and focused examination of model specification and interpretation, illustrating their application to the kinds of research that social and biomedical scientists undertake. Supported by numerous tables and graphs, using real survey data, as well as an appendix of computer programs for the statistical packages SAS, BMDP, and LIMDEP, the book is an ideal primer forunderstanding and using statistical models in analytical work. Eminently clear and highly practical, Statistical Models for Causal Analysis is essential for social science and biomedical professionals wishing to upgrade their methodological skills and students in need of a challenging, yet simplified treatment, of these useful, versatile models that have become essential tools for the modern researcher in these fields.

The Statistical Analysis of Multivariate Failure Time Data: A Marginal Modeling Approach provides an innovative look at methods for the analysis of correlated failure times. The focus is on the use of marginal single and marginal double failure hazard rate estimators for the extraction of regression information. For example, in a context of randomized trial or cohort studies, the results go beyond that obtained by analyzing each failure time outcome in a univariate fashion. The book is addressed to researchers, practitioners, and graduate students, and can be used as a reference or as a graduate course text. Much of the literature on the analysis of censored correlated failure time data uses frailty or copula models to allow for residual dependencies among failure times, given covariates. In contrast, this book provides a detailed account of recently developed methods for the simultaneous estimation of marginal single and dual outcome hazard rate regression parameters, with emphasis on multiplicative (Cox) models. Illustrations are provided of the utility of these methods using Women's Health Initiative randomized controlled trial data of menopausal hormones and of a low-fat dietary pattern intervention. As byproducts, these methods provide flexible semiparametric estimators of pairwise bivariate survivor functions at specified covariate histories, as well as semiparametric estimators of cross ratio and concordance functions given covariates. The presentation also describes how these innovative methods may extend to handle issues of dependent censorship, missing and mismeasured covariates, and joint modeling of failure times and covariates, setting the stage for additional theoretical and applied developments. This book extends and continues the style of the classic Statistical Analysis of Failure Time Data by Kalbfleisch and Prentice. Ross L. Prentice is Professor of Biostatistics at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He is the recipient of COPSS Presidents and Fisher awards, the AACR Epidemiology/Prevention and Team Science awards, and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Shanshan Zhao is a Principal Investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

Anyone who attempts to read genetics or epidemiology research literature needs to understand the essentials of biostatistics. This book, a revised new edition of the successful "Essentials of Biostatistics" has been written to provide such an understanding to those who have little or no statistical background and who need to keep abreast of new findings in this fast moving field. Unlike many other elementary books on biostatistics, the main focus of this book is to explain basic concepts needed to understand statistical procedures.

This Book: Surveys basic statistical methods used in the genetics and epidemiology literature, including maximum likelihood and least squares. Introduces methods, such as permutation testing and bootstrapping, that are becoming more widely used in both genetic and epidemiological research. Is illustrated throughout with simple examples to clarify the statistical methodology. Explains Bayes' theorem pictorially. Features exercises, with answers to alternate questions, enabling use as a course text.

Written at an elementary mathematical level so that readers with high school mathematics will find the content accessible. Graduate students studying genetic epidemiology, researchers and practitioners from genetics, epidemiology, biology, medical research and statistics will find this an invaluable introduction to statistics.

Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment Tim Aldrich and Jack Griffith Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment addresses the historical development of environmental epidemiology, touching on recent sensationalized environmental tragedies such as Love Canal and Chernobyl. Understanding the importance that public opinion plays in the success or failure of any important regulatory decision involving human studies, the authors elaborate the issue of communicating scientific findings to the public. The authors have employed the material in this book while teaching graduate courses in epidemiology and in the application of field studies for environmentally related risk assessment. Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment is convenient for students to use in independent study, while instructors can use it as a reference and background source for classroom lectures. Each chapter contains a list of specific learning objectives, a detailed narrative including illustrations and case histories, and instructive assignments. The authors have also provided a list of recommended reading which complements the extensive bibliography and selected glossaries. This comprehensive text provides state-of-the-art instruction in the methodologic considerations with the design and conduct of environmental epidemiologic studies. The authors discuss disease mechanisms, the study of disease clusters, and surveillance techniques as these topics relate to environmental epidemiology. Environmental Epidemiology and Risk Assessment is a compilation of over thirty years of practical experience, university and public agency instruction, federal agency experiences, and community investigations, bringing together disparate scientific disciplines and offering the most comprehensive compendium of information to be found on the subject. Although this book serves as a reference text for trained epidemiologists, it places considerably more emphasis than is commonly found in epidemiologic texts on exposure monitoring, the use of biomarkers in epidemiologic studies, laboratory practices for environmental sampling, risk assessment, risk management, and environmental law. This "how to" book is an invaluable source for public health professionals with limited didactic training in epidemiology, but with interests and professional responsibilities that require a working understanding of the discipline.

The main message of this book is that people should be on their guard against both scare stories about risks to health, and claims for miracle cures of medical conditions. In the 21st century hardly a day passes without another article appearing in the media about a new treatment for a particular disease, new ways of improving our health by changing our lifestyle or new foodstuffs that claim to increase (or decrease) the risk of heart disease, cancer and the like. But how should the general public react to such claims, given that some of the journalists writing them focus on the sensational rather than the mundane and often have no qualms about sacrificing accuracy and honesty for the sake of a good story? Perhaps the wisest initial response is one of healthy scepticism, followed by an attempt to discover more about the details of the studies behind the reports. But most people are not, and have little desire to become experts in health research. By reading this book, however, these non-experts can, with minimal effort, learn enough about the scientific method to differentiate between those health claims, warnings and lifestyle recommendations that have some merit and those that are unproven or simply dishonest. So if you want to know if ginseng can really help with your erectile dysfunction, if breast cancer screening is all that politicians claim it to be, if ECT for depression is really a horror treatment and should be banned, if using a mobile phone can lead to brain tumours and how to properly evaluate the evidence from health and lifestyle related studies, then this is the book for you.

Exposure to ambient air pollutants, both indoors and outdoors has been associated with the exacerbation and also in the etiology of diverse human diseases. This book offers an overview of our current understanding of air pollution health risks and how this knowledge is being used in the regulatory, therapeutic intervention measures to protect the public health and reduce the disease burden caused by acute and long-term exposure to air pollutants. Air Pollution and Health Effects provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of air pollution health risks, morbidity and the global disease burden, whilst also delivering critical review on state of the art research so as to gain a fundamental understanding of the biological mechanisms involved in the etiology of air pollution-induced diseases. Chapters range from pregnancy outcomes and pre-term birth, carcinogens in the ambient aerosol and the health consequences of indoor biomass burning. Special emphasis is placed on regional and local air pollution and its impact on global health along with suitable preventive and interventional measures. With contributions from international experts in the field this volume is a valuable guide for researchers and clinicians in toxicology, medicine and public health as well as industry and government regulatory scientists involved in health protection.

This book explores the unresolved paradox at the heart of population aging, namely how to account for the fact that death rates from most non-communicable diseases rise as people age, yet aggregate death rates from such diseases have decreased overall despite an increasingly aging population. It provides a long-term historical perspective on this issue, presenting evidence that the underpinnings of modern aging extend as far back as the nineteenth century, and that aging has boosted per capita healthcare spending.  The book first outlines the three eras of the Epidemiologic Transition, taking readers from its first stage where the threat of infectious diseases loom large, through the transitional stage, and on to the modern era, where non-communicable diseases are the primary cause of death.  Next, the book examines the age-profiles of people whose childhoods coincide with the different stages of the Epidemiologic Transition. Using data from England and Wales, one of the few places that have recorded the data necessary for such an exploration, the book resolves the aging paradox by studying hidden generational change. It traverses historical time and identifies the distinct socio-economic and epidemiologic childhood conditions that may appear in it. It then compares, for instance, aging of children brought up in an earlier epidemiologic stage with aging of ones raised in a modern one.  In the process, it explores the influence of childhood development on aging. Overall, the book has a quantitative bent, engaging the reader with analytical issues that will help develop a deeper understanding of modern aging.

The book "Parasitic Zoonoses" emphasizes a veterinary and public health perspective of zoonotic parasites. This book is suitable for higher undergraduate and graduate students of zoonoses and public health, veterinary parasitology, parasite epidemiology; public health workers; public health veterinarians; field veterinarians, medical professionals and all others interested in the subject. More than 15 protozoa and 50 other parasitic diseases are zoonotic in nature and all these diseases have been discussed in detail. The first chapter is concerned with classification of zoonotic parasites, food borne, vector borne and occupation related zoonotic parasites. The remaining chapters cover etiology, epidemiology, life cycle, transmission, clinical signs, diagnosis, prevention and control of zoonotic parasites. The text is illustrated with a large number of coloured figures. An alphabetical bibliography for every disease has also been included so that readers have access to further information.