Customer Reviews

Evolution of Infectious Disease

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Paul W. Ewald is a professor of biology at Amherst College. He was the first recipient of the George E. Burch Fellowship in Theoretic Medicine and Affiliated Sciences. He conceived a new discipline called 'evolutionary epidemiology,' and "Evolution of Infectious Disease (1994)" is widely acknowledged as the watershed event for the emergence of this discipline, although I haven't yet seen many references to it ("Parasite Rex" by Carl Zimmer is an exception). This is a shame, because "Evolution of Infectious Disease" explains many medical mysteries, such as why people with multiple sex partners tend to harbor a more virulent version of AIDS, and why the Great Flu Pandemic of 1918 killed so many people (20 to 100 million).

'Darwinian medicine' is the science of trying to find evolutionary explanations for vulnerabilities to disease. A pathogen can survive in a population, explains Ewald, only if it can easily transmit its progeny from one host to another. One way to do this is to take a long time to disable a host, giving him plenty of time to come into contact with other potential victims. This would cause selection for a beneficial form of the disease. If the disease can pass quickly from one host to another, it will select for virulence in order to infect more hosts. Therefore if host-to-host passage can be delayed (by screened windows in the case of malaria), the disease will select for longevity---it makes no evolutionary sense to kill a host before the disease can be passed on.

Some diseases such as Ebola Fever kill the host too quickly, which is why Ewald believes this particular infection will not become pandemic. On the other hand the HTLV (human T Cell leukemia/lymphoma) viruses might very well increase in virulence and cause another pandemic like AIDS, since they are hosted and transmitted very much like AIDS. Ewald turns many of my preconceptions about disease upside down in this book, which is one reason why it is so fascinating.

If you have any interest at all in epidemiology or any concern about our 'once and future' plagues, read this book!

This author has also written "Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancers, Heart Disease, and Other Deadly Ailments."

If Plague Time can be considered to be "Evolutionary Epidemiology for Dummies", then Evolution of Infectious Disease is the technical foundation behind the ideas presented in that other work. Ewald builds this foundation by showing that evolutionary causes are behind many diseases plaguing mankind today. He also takes great care in pointing out how crafting treatment programs with evolutionary factors in mind would likely control these scourges. By presenting the information in this manner, Ewald gives his audience with a workable plan to control disease that bypasses many of the shortfalls associated with conventional medicine.

Evolution of Infectious Disease has already been called a milestone in the history of epidemiology. It is easy to understand why. The ideas presented in the book are revolutionary; the level of research to support them is impeccable; and they are conveyed in a manner which is both accessible and applicable. Given these qualities, it is no surprise that Evolution of Infectious Disease is now recognized as an essential text for understanding and combating disease.

This is an excellent review of the application of evolution theory to understanding disease. Lacking the melodrama of Garrett's "The Coming Plague," it presents a comprehensive view of how to understand disease evolution. The analyses are clear and the data fascinating. A gold mine of dissertation subjects.

This was one of the most intellectually exciting books I have read in a long time. Ewald covers biochemistry, history, social policy, medicine, and academic research in a wonderfully thoughtful, logical, innovative and exciting 'new' way of looking at germ theory.

I wholeheartedly and unreservedly recommend this book as an excellent contribution to scientific literacy, intelligent conversation, and global health policy. (...)

Happy Reading!

This book is not for everyone. It is loaded with technical scientific jargon (although there is a detailed glossary at the end) and is complete with references for each statement made by the author. For those interested in evolutionary biology and its clinical implications however, this book is a goldmine. Ewald takes his readers through the evolution of virulence, debunking the unsubstantiated notion that parasitic organisms ultimately evolve towards benigness with innumerable references from the scientific literature. He sheds light on why vector born diseases are generally more severe than non-vector born ones and reveals instances in which the latter can evolve increased virulence (waterborne transmission, war...). He then embarks on explaining the evolution of the HIV virus, from a relatively benign virus to today's dangerous pandemic, using the same concepts developed in his earlier chapters. The main premise of this book is the evolutionary concept that parasitic organisms will evolve increased virulence if opportunities for transmission are increased. This is because parasites can afford to reproduce to the point of severely harming their hosts if new hosts abound. Benigness, on the other hand, evolves when there are fewer opportunities for transmission. I recommend this book for all clinicians, because of the strong clinical implications that are contained within its pages. If we are to come a step closer to containing infectious diseases, we must understand how they evolve, how they operate and we must work with evolution rather than against it in order to achieve our ambitious goals.

In spite of the author's disclaimer, this is not a divulgation book. It is a technical work. A very detailed, well reasoned, with a lot of notes and examples when are needed.
It is a book respected by the medical profession, at least by the most open minded part of it, although evolutionary medicine is not well accepted by many in the medical profession. It departs from the mechanicist approach until recently prevalent in Medicine.
The book dissects several well known maladies (malaria, AIDS) and explains them from the darwinist point of view, with spectacular success.

Chapter 1 says it all- "Why this book" a well laid out discussion of the conflicing ideas surrounding evolution of infectious diseases. Not alot of fun narrative about the hunt for these diseases or the personal stories behind the science, but if you read this book then you will be able to better appreciate the popular novels about virlolgy and emerging diseases etc.

As a book this is an excellent introduction with quite a bit of development, to the role of evolution in infectious disease. Since microorganisms reproduce so quickly, their evolutionary adaptations can occur very rapidly. With exchange of genes, it can be a matter of weeks or months. Dr. Ewald makes these points with excellent examples in a way that is very readable.

I would recommend this as a text for epidemiology, medical students and microbiologists.

Paul Ewald is the true founder and father of evolutionary medicine. Instead of being a physician, like authors of many of the current books on evolutionary medicine, he is a true evolutionary biologist who has an intimate knowledge of natural selection. This is the book that started the field and is a must read for anyone interested in the field and any medical professional.

Evoultion of Infectious Diseases by Paul Ewald, in my opinion, is not a very good book. The author makes a compilation of all the research done in the past years on several infectious diseases but he lacks narrative. Too much data makes it heavy to read and quite boring. Even though, the book presents an extensive bilbliography which might prove useful for research.