This book provides up-to-date information on the characteristics of each species of intestinal fluke found in humans and on the management of infections caused by these trematodes. Biology, epidemiology, host-parasite relationships, pathogenicity, clinical aspects, diagnosis, and treatment are all reviewed in detail. The zoonotic intestinal flukes comprise 38 genera belonging to 16 families. They are morphologically diverse and each species has a characteristic life cycle and geographical distribution. Intestinal fluke infections are commonly considered as tropical endemic diseases in Asian countries, where 6 million people are infected, but the geographical limits and populations at risk are expanding and changing owing to a range of factors, including growing international markets, improved transportation systems, changes in eating habits, demographic trends, and climate change. While the pathogenicity of intestinal flukes is generally mild, the impact in immunocompromised individuals requires clarification and some diagnostic problems remain to be solved. In exploring all aspects of human intestinal fluke infections, this book will be invaluable for clinicians and researchers alike.

Traditionally, laboratory identification of parasites has relied upon various phenotypic procedures that detect their morphological, biological, and immunological features. Because these procedures tend to be time-consuming and technically demanding, molecular methods based on nucleic acid amplification technologies have been increasingly utilized

Barnes, a paleopathologist, offers general overviews of specific diseases (West Nile virus, Lyme disease, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, cholera, etc.) and their carriers.

Digenetic trematodes constitute a major helminth group that parasitize human and animals and are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The diseases caused by trematodes have been neglected for years, especially as compared with other parasitic diseases. However, the geographical limits and the populations at risk are currently expanding and changing in relation to factors such as growing international markets, improved transportation systems, and demographic changes. This has led to a growing international interest to the trematode infections, although factors such as the difficulties entailed in the diagnosis, the complexity of human and agricultural practices, the lack of assessments of the economic costs, or the limited number of effective drugs are preventing the development of control measures of these diseases in humans and livestock. In-depth studies are needed to clarify the current epidemiology of these helminth infections and to identify new and specific targets for both effective diagnosis and treatments. The main goal of the second edition of this book is to present the major trematodes and their corresponding diseases in the framework of modern parasitology, considering matters such as the application of novel techniques and analysis of data in the context of host-parasite interactions and to show applications of new techniques and concepts for the studies on digenetic trematodes. This is an ideal book for parasitologists, microbiologists, zoologists, immunologists, professional of public health workers, clinicians and graduate and post-graduate students.

Sanitation and intestinal health is something we often take for granted today. However, people living in many regions of the developing world still suffer with debilitating diseases due to the lack of sanitation. Despite its clear impact upon health in modern times, sanitation in past populations is a topic that has received surprisingly little attention. This book brings together key experts from around the world to explore fascinating aspects of life in the past relevant to sanitation, and how that affected our ancestors. By its end readers will realize that toilets were in use in ancient Mesopotamia even before the invention of writing, and that flushing toilets with anatomic seats were a technology of ancient Greece at the time of the minotaur myth. They will see how sanitation compared in ancient Rome and medieval London, and will take a virtual walk around the sanitation of York at the time of the Vikings. Readers will also understand which intestinal parasites infected humans in different regions of the world over different time periods, what these parasites tell us about early human evolution, later population migrations, past diet, lifestyle, and the effects of sanitation technology. There is good evidence that over the millennia people in the past realized that sanitation mattered. They invented toilets, cleaner water supplies, drains, waste disposal and sanitation legislation. While past views on sanitation were very different to those of today, it is clear than many past societies took sanitation much more seriously than was previously thought.

The Third Edition of this definitive reference provides comprehensive guidelines on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of every infectious disease seen in current clinical practice. More than 300 world-class practitioners detail the full range of clinical infections, microorganisms, diagnostic tests, and antimicrobial therapies. Coverage includes chapters on surgical infections written by preeminent surgeons and up-to-the-minute information on HIV infection. A comprehensive antimicrobial drugs section includes tables that provide at-a-glance prescribing information. New Third Edition chapters cover bioterrorism, hospital infections, emerging infections, human herpesvirus-8, West Nile virus, food safety, linezolid and quinupristin/dalfopristin, molecular diagnostics, and diagnostic significance of nonspecific laboratory abnormalities.