Forgotten Disease

Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases Second Edition The neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common infections of the world's poor, but few people know about these diseases and why they are so important. This second edition of Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases provides an overview of the NTDs and how they devastate the poor, essentially trapping them in a vicious cycle of extreme poverty by preventing them from working or attaining their full intellectual and cognitive development. Author Peter J. Hotez highlights a new opportunity to control and perhaps eliminate these ancient scourges, through alliances between nongovernmental development organizations and private-public partnerships to create a successful environment for mass drug administration and product development activities. Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases also Addresses the myriad changes that have occurred in the field since the previous edition. Describes how NTDs have affected impoverished populations for centuries, changing world history. Considers the future impact of alliances between nongovernmental development organizations and private-public partnerships. Forgotten People, Forgotten Diseases is an essential resource for anyone seeking a roadmap to coordinate global advocacy and mobilization of resources to combat NTDs.

Following the course of one disease over nearly two millennia, this book provides “a wonderful and highly readable history of Chinese medicine” (Isis). Around the turn of the twentieth century, disorders that Chinese physicians had been writing about for over a millennium acquired new identities in Western medicine—sudden turmoil became cholera; flowers of heaven became smallpox; and foot qi became beriberi. Historians have tended to present these new identities as revelations, overlooking evidence that challenges Western ideas about these conditions. In Forgotten Disease, Hilary A. Smith argues that, by privileging nineteenth-century sources, we misrepresent what traditional Chinese doctors were seeing and doing, therefore unfairly viewing their medicine as inferior. Drawing on a wide array of sources, ranging from early Chinese classics to modern scientific research, Smith traces the history of one representative case, foot qi, from the fourth century to the present day. She examines the shifting meanings of disease over time, showing that each transformation reflects the social, political, intellectual, and economic environment. The breathtaking scope of this story offers insights into the world of early Chinese doctors and how their ideas about health, illness, and the body were developing far before the advent of modern medicine. Smith highlights the fact that modern conceptions of these ancient diseases create the impression that the West saved the Chinese from age-old afflictions, when the reality is that many prominent diseases in China were actually brought over as a result of imperialism. She invites the reader to reimagine a history of Chinese medicine that celebrates its complexity and nuance, rather than uncritically disdaining this dynamic form of healing. “An extraordinary book, replete with rich and imaginative storytelling and insightful analyses.” —Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies

This book could save you years of ill health! Vitamin B12 definicency, often caused by pernicious anaemia, can be a devastating condition if left untreated, leaing to irreversible nerve damage and disability after years of exhaustion and mental 'fog'. Its symptoms creep up on sufferers and are under-recognised by doctors; tests to confirm it and underlying pernicious anaemia, are problematic. Martyn Hooper, the founder of the Pernicious Anaemia Society, now brings together vital information about the condition and real-life stories - including his own and those of many members of the society - that will help sufferers and their friends and fmailies recognise the condition and understand how best to tackle it. In particular, the book draws on the findings of a survey of society members that give new clarity to the complex issues involved.

Infectious diseases are the leading cause of death globally, particularly among children and young adults. The spread of new pathogens and the threat of antimicrobial resistance pose particular challenges in combating these diseases. Major Infectious Diseases identifies feasible, cost-effective packages of interventions and strategies across delivery platforms to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, malaria, adult febrile illness, viral hepatitis, and neglected tropical diseases. The volume emphasizes the need to effectively address emerging antimicrobial resistance, strengthen health systems, and increase access to care. The attainable goals are to reduce incidence, develop innovative approaches, and optimize existing tools in resource-constrained settings.

Hansen's Disease - The Forgotten and Neglected Disease provides concise information on the relevant aspects of the disease of leprosy, including immunological, epidemiological, clinical and molecular studies that are of great importance in the study of an often-ignored disease, which remains a great challenge to humanity. It collects contributions made by professional experts in the study of Mycobacterium leprae, providing perspectives with knowledge, experience and research, highlighting that the disease continues to be of interest to public health. It is expected that this book will be useful and contribute to the expansion of information and interest about the disease commonly known as leprosy.

Between August 1918 and March 1919 the Spanish influenza spread worldwide, claiming over 25 million lives - more people than perished in the fighting of the First World War. It proved fatal to at least a half-million Americans. Yet, the Spanish flu pandemic is largely forgotten today. In this vivid narrative, Alfred W. Crosby recounts the course of the pandemic during the panic-stricken months of 1918 and 1919, measures its impact on American society, and probes the curious loss of national memory of this cataclysmic event. This 2003 edition includes a preface discussing the then recent outbreaks of diseases, including the Asian flu and the SARS epidemic.

Unveil the concealed realities that shaped the Western world's health evolution, transitioning from an era overshadowed by the specter of infectious diseases to an epoch of prosperity, relative health, and well-being. Dive into the extended Dissolving Illusions: 10th Anniversary Edition, where you'll explore an additional 200+ pages, over 300 new references, and even more charts that challenge traditional medical dogma. Embark on a historical saga of famine, poverty, buried and lost cures, and conflicts between individual freedoms and government mandates and laws. Explore overlooked vital statistics illustrated by easy-to-understand charts that scrutinize the impact of vaccines, antibiotics, and medical interventions on the increase in lifespan and decline of mortality from infectious diseases. Examine the concealed role of medicine in causing much injury and death over centuries. Dissolving Illusions meticulously presents facts and figures from forgotten medical journals, books, newspapers, and diverse sources: dispelling the prevailing false narratives that largely attribute increased lifespan and premature death prevention to medical interventions. Are you prepared to dissolve some of your own illusions and engage in a transformative journey that will challenge much of what you think you know? If you have already begun the journey, the contents of this book will help to deepen your understanding and knowledge of historical facts.

A fascinating look at a bizarre, forgotten epidemic from the national bestselling author of The American Plague. In 1918, a world war raged, and a lethal strain of influenza circled the globe. In the midst of all this death, a bizarre disease appeared in Europe. Eventually known as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, it spread worldwide, leaving millions dead or locked in institutions. Then, in 1927, it disappeared as suddenly as it arrived. Asleep, set in 1920s and '30s New York, follows a group of neurologists through hospitals and asylums as they try to solve this epidemic and treat its victims-who learned the worst fate was not dying of it, but surviving it.