Tropical diseases remain a major global concern, not only because they affect a huge part of the world population, but also because of the growing global movement of people associated with employment, tourism, and war. Recent advances in molecular biology, epitomized by the genomic revolution, have brought new promises of powerful scientific approaches to fight such diseases. The WHO's Advisory Committee on Health Research recognizes this fact in its recommendation on Genomics and World Health and stresses the need for concerted efforts by scientists in the developed world, where most of the recent advances in life sciences have occurred, and those in the tropical, mostly less developed countries, where such diseases are endemic. Tropical Diseases: From Molecule to Bedside exemplifies such an effort. It covers a wide range of topics that reflect perspectives of northern and southern hemispheres. Fittingly, it defines tropical diseases in a broader-than-usual manner. For example, the book discusses traditional tropical medicine topics of infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies. These diseases are common in the tropics, although some are associated more with poverty than with tropical living conditions. It also deals with genetic diseases and genomic issues that are truly associated with living in the tropics, e.g. the thalassemias. The book begins with several papers describing the vast human genetic diversity of Southeast Asia and its relationship to several genetic disorders. These papers illustrate the future direction of genomic activities in relation to disease susceptibility and resistance. The next sections deal with malaria and four specific viral and bacterial diseasesof the tropics: hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, and leprosy. These are then followed by a section on general bacterial infection. Two papers on nutrition complete the volume.
Proceedings of the second International Eijkman Symposium on Tropical Diseases: From Molecule to Bedside: In the Footsteps of Christiaan Eijkman, held September 2-6, 2001, in Bogor, Indonesia.

Christiaan Eijkman received the Nobel prize for Medicine in 1929 for his discovery that beri-beri is a vitamin-deficiency disease. He had conducted his seminal research on the disease in the fonner Dutch East Indies between 1886 and 1898 at the location of. the present Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology in Jakarta. In 1998, the first International Eijkman Symposium was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, to celebrate the fact that exactly 100 years earlier Christiaan Eijkman was inaugurated as full professor in Hygiene and Bacteriology at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. The Eijkman-Winkler Centre for Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Inflammation is the direct descendant of Eijkman's department in Utrecht. vii Contributing Authors Bacbti Alisjabbana Department of Internal Medicine Padjadjaran University (UNP AD) Dr Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung Indonesia Kevin Baird US Navy Medical Research Unit-2 J1. Percetakan Negara 29 Jakarta 15650 Indonesia Phone: +62-21-421-4457 Fax: +62-214244507 Jan P . B. van den Berg Nederland-Batam Foundation Stationsweg 56 6711 PT Ede The Netherlands Phone: +31-318610368 Fax: +31-318612476 Greet J. Boland Eijkman-Winkler Centre University Medical Centre Utrecht ix x Contributing Authors P. O. Box 85500 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands Phone: +31-302506536 Fax: +31-302541770 G J . Boland@azu. n1 Graham V. Brown Department of Medicine University of Melbourne Royal Melbourne Hospital Victoria Australia gvb@unimelb. edu. au Frank E. J. Coenjaerts Eijkman-Winkler Centre University Medical Centre Utrecht P. O. Box 85500 3584 CX Utrecht The Netherlands Phone: +31-302507637 Fax: +31-302541770 . EJ . Coenjaerts@lab. azu.