|
Books > Medicine > General issues > Public health & preventive medicine > Epidemiology & medical statistics
|
Not currently available
The Hepatitis E Virus - Pigs Might Fly (Hardcover, Unabridged edition)
Loot Price: R2,381
Discovery Miles 23 810
|
|
|
The Hepatitis E Virus - Pigs Might Fly (Hardcover, Unabridged edition)
Supplier out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.
|
This volume is an account of scientific discovery related to the
hepatitis E virus (HEV). HEV was first identified in Afghanistan in
1982 by a remarkably courageous act of self-experimentation by a
Russian scientist. Following this, it was found that, in some
developing countries in Asia and Africa, HEV was the cause of
enormous outbreaks of hepatitis spread by infected drinking water,
with a 25% death rate in pregnant women. For many years, HEV was
thought not to be an issue in high-income countries and was only
seen in travellers returning from high risk areas: it was
considered a "back-packers'" disease. We now know that this was
hopelessly wrong as HEV is very common in developed countries, with
currently over 2 million infections per year in Europe. Here, HEV
is found in pigs and spread mainly via consumption of contaminated
pork meat. There has been a major increase in cases of HEV in many
developed countries, including patients who have suffered liver
failure, some of whom have died. We now know that HEV can also
cause severe damage to the nervous system.This book describes an
English doctor's contribution to the discovery of the impact of HEV
in humans. Recent cases in the UK appear to have originated from
pigs in Continental Europe and HEV was, as a consequence, dubbed by
the international press as the `Brexit Virus'; perhaps an early
leaving present from our friends in the EU. Accessible to lay
readers, the text includes case histories and stories from a health
service increasingly under pressure and given context by examples
of medical discoveries from the past. The role of the meat
production industry, including questionable on-going high-risk
virological practices, is put under the spotlight, leading to
inevitable comparisons with the BSE crisis of the 1980s. HEV
continues to exact a heavy toll in some low-income countries, most
notably with multiple large outbreaks in African refugee camps.
Despite the best efforts of organisations such as Medecins Sans
Frontieres, each year, pregnant women continue to die by the score.
This is particularly poignant as these deaths may be avoidable, as
there is a safe and effective vaccine. However, the HEV vaccine is
only licensed for use in China, and, so far, efforts to introduce
it to Africa have hit a brick wall of politics and red tape.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
|
You might also like..
|
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
