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Have Bacteria Won?
Today, we are far less likely to die from infection than at any other time in history, but still we worry about epidemics, the menace of antibiotic resistance and modern 'plagues' like Ebola. In this timely new book, eminent bacteriologist Hugh Pennington explores why these fears remain and why they are unfounded. He reports on outright victories (such as smallpox), battles where the enemy is on its last stand (polio), surprise attacks from vegetarian bats (Ebola, SARS) and demented cows (BSE). Qualified optimism, he argues, is the message for the future but the battles will go on forever.
168 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2019
(قدرة التقنية تتضاعف، وهذا يعني أن تعقب أثر الميكروبات وفهم تطورها واكتشاف نقاط ضعفها أصبح أكثر سهولة وسرعة،
ولكن في نفس الوقت تطورها يمتلك قوة كبيرة ليُدهشنا، ويضع المسؤولية على عاتقنا فيما يتعلق بكيف ندير علاقتنا مع الميكروبات والأمراض المعدية) ..
في الكتاب عرض تاريخي للبكتيريا القاتلة والأوبئة العالمية..
ولكن في نفس الوقت تطورها يمتلك قوة كبيرة ليُدهشنا، ويضع المسؤولية على عاتقنا فيما يتعلق بكيف ندير علاقتنا مع الميكروبات والأمراض المعدية) ..
في الكتاب عرض تاريخي للبكتيريا القاتلة والأوبئة العالمية..
January 19, 2020
قعدت سنة وشهر اقراه😂😂😂
December 19, 2015
I very much enjoyed this book and was pleased to discover that despite its title it covers a wide range of disease forms including viruses.
Pennington puts together a cogent and well argued case that some of the more apocalyptic predictions of future anti-biotic resistance are somewhat overstated, whilst giving some credence to those worries, and explaining the mechanisms by which they can be partially averted. It seems sadly that the most effective weapons are cleanliness and hygiene in and out of theatre and that this has been known since Lister and repeatedly ignored (there is a sense of resigned sadness in parts about simple errors repeated over and over in outbreaks; in two of which cases Pennington did the reviews and saw his advice ignored).
It is hard to square some of Pennington's optimistic approach with current worries about over-prescription; excessive use of anti-biotics in animals; GPs prescribing pointless doses for viral infections etc. and not possible to know whether those issues are over-stated of Pennington plays them down.
It is a short book and packs a great deal of information in - I read it in a day and will find it invaluable for lending to A-Level students prepping for Medicine interviews or writing EPQs on disease treatment.
Pennington puts together a cogent and well argued case that some of the more apocalyptic predictions of future anti-biotic resistance are somewhat overstated, whilst giving some credence to those worries, and explaining the mechanisms by which they can be partially averted. It seems sadly that the most effective weapons are cleanliness and hygiene in and out of theatre and that this has been known since Lister and repeatedly ignored (there is a sense of resigned sadness in parts about simple errors repeated over and over in outbreaks; in two of which cases Pennington did the reviews and saw his advice ignored).
It is hard to square some of Pennington's optimistic approach with current worries about over-prescription; excessive use of anti-biotics in animals; GPs prescribing pointless doses for viral infections etc. and not possible to know whether those issues are over-stated of Pennington plays them down.
It is a short book and packs a great deal of information in - I read it in a day and will find it invaluable for lending to A-Level students prepping for Medicine interviews or writing EPQs on disease treatment.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews