000 03386nam a22004095i 4500
001 978-1-4614-4845-7
003 DE-He213
005 20140220082817.0
007 cr nn 008mamaa
008 121026s2013 xxu| s |||| 0|eng d
020 _a9781461448457
_9978-1-4614-4845-7
024 7 _a10.1007/978-1-4614-4845-7
_2doi
050 4 _aRC109-216
072 7 _aMJCJ
_2bicssc
072 7 _aMED022090
_2bisacsh
082 0 4 _a616.9
_223
100 1 _aArtenstein, Andrew W.
_eauthor.
245 1 0 _aIn the Blink of an Eye
_h[electronic resource] :
_bThe Deadly Story of Epidemic Meningitis /
_cby Andrew W. Artenstein.
264 1 _aNew York, NY :
_bSpringer New York :
_bImprint: Springer,
_c2013.
300 _aIX, 138 p. 22 illus., 5 illus. in color.
_bonline resource.
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
347 _atext file
_bPDF
_2rda
505 0 _aOrigins -- The Art and Science of Germs -- A Singular Disease -- A Very Mortal Disease -- Early Approaches at Therapy -- Antibiotics and Survival of the Fittest -- A Brief History of Vaccines -- That Soulble Specific Substance -- Towards a Vaccine -- Success for Half -- The Future of a Killer.
520 _aDescribing more than two centuries of epidemic meningitis, In the Blink of an Eye introduces a deadly and frightening bacterial infection of the brain—one that afflicts healthy children and young adults in dramatic fashion, often changing or taking lives in just hours or days.  Meningococcal meningitis is the culprit—causing sporadic cases as well as explosive, unpredictable outbreaks of disease throughout the world—leading to the deaths of dozens to hundreds of thousands every year.  Beginning with the case of a healthy teenage boy who rapidly succumbs to the disease, the book traces meningitis through its various social contexts.  From the acceptance of the germ theory of disease and the birth of the sister sciences of microbiology and immunology in the nineteenth century to the modern molecular era, the story traverses more than 200 years of medical history.  It leads us through the early descriptions of the disease, its impact on military forces, large outbreaks of meningitis in Africa and elsewhere, and the evolution of approaches to its treatment, control, and prevention.  In so doing, we witness the development of modern medical research and education, the discovery of antibiotics, the rapid emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, the invention of a novel class of vaccines, and learn the inner workings of disease processes and the human immune system.  The story of meningococcal meningitis—winding through the evolution of infectious diseases, the great European capitals of nineteenth century science, the Rockefeller Institute, the dye industry, Nazi Germany, military medicine, the Vietnam era, and prospects for an end to epidemic disease—parallels the rise of modern medical science.
650 0 _aMedicine.
650 0 _aEmerging infectious diseases.
650 1 4 _aMedicine & Public Health.
650 2 4 _aInfectious Diseases.
710 2 _aSpringerLink (Online service)
773 0 _tSpringer eBooks
776 0 8 _iPrinted edition:
_z9781461448440
856 4 0 _uhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4845-7
912 _aZDB-2-SME
999 _c95237
_d95237