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Infectious: A Doctor’s Eye-Opening Insights into Contagious Diseases
A woman’s innocuous cold symptoms mask a debilitating rare tick infection. A young man develops shingles then suffers blinding head pain later in life. After years of frustration, a family eradicates head lice forever.
Infectious follows on from Frank Bowden’s 2011 Gone Viral but deals much more with everyday infectious diseases - the flu, colds, sore throats and head lice.
It also tackles topical and critical issues in modern medical practice - the emergence of antibiotic resistance, the Ebola epidemic, the Lyme disease controversy and the causes of chronic fatigue.
Infectious follows on from Frank Bowden’s 2011 Gone Viral but deals much more with everyday infectious diseases - the flu, colds, sore throats and head lice.
It also tackles topical and critical issues in modern medical practice - the emergence of antibiotic resistance, the Ebola epidemic, the Lyme disease controversy and the causes of chronic fatigue.
- GenresHealthNonfiction
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 8, 2020
This is an enjoyable read with a lot of clear information on the basics of epidemiology, what a cold is, how infections work, and controversial topics such as Lyme disease and anti-biotic resistance.
The reason I give it three stars is mainly for something out of the author’s control: in this age of COVID-19, Infectious is way out of date! By this I mean that while the content is still valid, it is less relevant than it would have been 6 months ago. The issue today is about virus infection rather than bacterial resistance.
I’m fairly sure that if Frank Bowden updated Infectious, given what I know of his style and writing abilities, I’d give the new book 5 stars without hesitation.
The reason I give it three stars is mainly for something out of the author’s control: in this age of COVID-19, Infectious is way out of date! By this I mean that while the content is still valid, it is less relevant than it would have been 6 months ago. The issue today is about virus infection rather than bacterial resistance.
I’m fairly sure that if Frank Bowden updated Infectious, given what I know of his style and writing abilities, I’d give the new book 5 stars without hesitation.
March 22, 2018
The medical field grew so quickly during the 20th Century that a lot of imperfect progress has been overlooked. Health professionals are not immune from making diagnoses and prescribing based on an incomplete or mistaken understanding of best practice. Dr Bowden makes some controversial arguments- about antibiotic use, public health spending, how the public misunderstands the results of medical research and the effectiveness of preventative screening. Infectious is a great read for anyone interested in evidence-based medicine or public health.
May 20, 2021
I read this book before the global pandemic- and I feel it put me in a good position, early on, to understand the basics of epidemiology. Its well communicated, and a lot of fun: so if you find epidemiology overwhelming or confusing, this is a fun way to start.
February 18, 2020
Fascinating and well-written.
Read
May 31, 2025Great book , if you want to check with a doctor online https://tebcan.com/en/Jordan/online/D...
June 8, 2016
‘Today antibiotic resistance has reached a crisis across the world.’
I was drawn by the blurb on the back cover of this book: ‘A young woman’s FLU symptoms mask a rare tick infection. A man develops SHINGLES then suffers excruciating FACIAL PAIN later in life. After years of frustration, a family eradicates HEAD LICE forever.’
I’ve never had head lice, but I’ve known plenty of people who have. And not one of them enjoyed it.
Discovering and treating a rare tick infection looks pretty good to me as well, but what really caught my attention was the reference to shingles and facial pain. This is something my mother suffered from terribly at various stages in her life.
Professor Bowden has divided this book into three parts:
Part 1: The Age of Infections
Part II: The end of the Age of Antibiotics
Part III: First do no harm
There’s a lot of information in this book, delivered in a way that is easy to read and understand. Professor Bowden reminds us that:
‘The rapid growth in international travel, beginning in the 1970s, meant that the jumbo would become as important as the mosquito in the spread of disease.’
This has become especially important where patients from the developed world, by seeking cheaper medical treatment in the developing world for procedures such as dental implants, joint replacements and kidney transplants, have ‘given resistant bugs an international passport. It takes less than fourteen hours to fly from Delhi to Sydney with all your bugs on board.’
Part of this is a consequence of the increased use of broad spectrum antibiotics which has resulted in the emergence of highly resistant bacteria.
Professor Bowden also discusses Ebola and other viruses, the impact of diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella, the eradication of smallpox. The use and misuse of antibiotics is discussed, and
I found myself wondering how many of my own antibiotic allergies or sensitivities are a consequence of frequent prescription for various childhood illnesses.
While I found the entire book interesting, informative and thought provoking, it was the last part that really made me think. Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer screening are all discussed. In part this is about self-diagnosis and about the difficulties in diagnosing when people present with non-specific complaints. It’s also about the proliferation of diagnostic tests, which can lead to unnecessary treatment.
Frank Bowden is Professor at the Australian National University Medical School and an Infectious Disease Physician at the Canberra Hospital. His special research interest has been population health approaches to the control of infectious diseases (especially sexually transmitted infections).
If you have any interest in public health, then I recommend this book to you. Professor Bowden raises a number of important questions in this book. You don’t have to be a medical professional to read (and understand) the issues.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
I was drawn by the blurb on the back cover of this book: ‘A young woman’s FLU symptoms mask a rare tick infection. A man develops SHINGLES then suffers excruciating FACIAL PAIN later in life. After years of frustration, a family eradicates HEAD LICE forever.’
I’ve never had head lice, but I’ve known plenty of people who have. And not one of them enjoyed it.
Discovering and treating a rare tick infection looks pretty good to me as well, but what really caught my attention was the reference to shingles and facial pain. This is something my mother suffered from terribly at various stages in her life.
Professor Bowden has divided this book into three parts:
Part 1: The Age of Infections
Part II: The end of the Age of Antibiotics
Part III: First do no harm
There’s a lot of information in this book, delivered in a way that is easy to read and understand. Professor Bowden reminds us that:
‘The rapid growth in international travel, beginning in the 1970s, meant that the jumbo would become as important as the mosquito in the spread of disease.’
This has become especially important where patients from the developed world, by seeking cheaper medical treatment in the developing world for procedures such as dental implants, joint replacements and kidney transplants, have ‘given resistant bugs an international passport. It takes less than fourteen hours to fly from Delhi to Sydney with all your bugs on board.’
Part of this is a consequence of the increased use of broad spectrum antibiotics which has resulted in the emergence of highly resistant bacteria.
Professor Bowden also discusses Ebola and other viruses, the impact of diseases such as measles, mumps and rubella, the eradication of smallpox. The use and misuse of antibiotics is discussed, and
I found myself wondering how many of my own antibiotic allergies or sensitivities are a consequence of frequent prescription for various childhood illnesses.
While I found the entire book interesting, informative and thought provoking, it was the last part that really made me think. Lyme disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer screening are all discussed. In part this is about self-diagnosis and about the difficulties in diagnosing when people present with non-specific complaints. It’s also about the proliferation of diagnostic tests, which can lead to unnecessary treatment.
Frank Bowden is Professor at the Australian National University Medical School and an Infectious Disease Physician at the Canberra Hospital. His special research interest has been population health approaches to the control of infectious diseases (especially sexually transmitted infections).
If you have any interest in public health, then I recommend this book to you. Professor Bowden raises a number of important questions in this book. You don’t have to be a medical professional to read (and understand) the issues.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
September 16, 2016
Witty and funny from the very 1st page! A must read for everyone
March 31, 2017
excellent, informative & easy to read. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Head Lice, the author is local to me & I understood his pain!
April 9, 2017
Dr. Bowden thoroughly dissects and lays bare several sacred cows relevant to the public understanding of infectious disease through an evidence based public health lens.
I gained fresh and detailed understandings of head lice treatment, Lyme disease in Australia, and the surprising controversy around prostate screening.
An informative, very well researched, and entertaining read.
I gained fresh and detailed understandings of head lice treatment, Lyme disease in Australia, and the surprising controversy around prostate screening.
An informative, very well researched, and entertaining read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews