This chapter discusses diseases transmissible between man and animals (dogs, cats, cattle, pigs), including rabies, echinococcosis, toxocariasis, toxoplasmosis, tapeworms, anthrax and brucellosis. Measures to reduce risk of contracting these diseases are suggested.

This chapter presents a historical account of some of the common infectious diseases of humans associated with unhygienic and unsanitary traditional practices, such as neonatal tetanus, trachoma, yaws and syphilis. The importance of handwashing and hygiene education in the control and prevention of ...

This chapter discusses the role of diet in health and disease. The discovery of dietary fibre, the significance of a balanced diet, the role of infant feeds and breast milk in childhood obesity, and the risks and benefits of cow's milk consumption. Fish oil supplements, dietary antioxidants and the ...

In this concluding chapter, the role of bacteria and viruses in developing the human species into what it is, immunity and its enhancement against infections, and the role of disease in shaping history are discussed. Some beneficial microorganisms, the discovery and use of antibiotics against...

This book contains 20 chapters covering a range of infectious diseases, as well as a few non-infectious diseases such as cancer, and how they greatly affected the course of human history. It explores host-pathogen relationship, transmission routes, evolution, and global spread of infectious...

This chapter reviews current understanding of the origin of life, starting with the evolution of Archaea and bacteria, viruses and then eukaryotic organisms including animals and humans. It also provides a historical account of the early understanding of the natural history of human infectious...

This chapter reviews the types and outcome of immune response generated by the human body toward parasites/pathogens, such as Trichinella spiralis, Plasmodium falciparum, Helicobacter pylori and other bacteria, and human endogenous retroviruses. It also discusses the principle behind the protective ...

This chapter reviews 2 of the great plagues (namely, plague (also known as the black death pandemic) and smallpox) in human history, examining the magnitude of its spread and mortality, disease vectors, transmission routes, clinical and epidemic characteristics, and its contribution in changing the ...

This chapter describes the role of missionaries in spreading influenza in Samoa, measles in Fiji, and leprosy and diabetes in Nauru, and the death of missionaries after contracting malaria in Africa. The value of immunity is briefly discussed.

This chapter describes the epidemiology, clinical aspects, spread, treatment and prevention of waterborne diseases, namely cholera and typhoid.