Control of communicable diseases has become an important issue worldwide because of the emergence and re-emergence of new infections. Factors that are effecting these changes include global warming, international travel, natural disaster, and human migration. The recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the imminent threat to human beings of avian influenza, and the threat of bioterrorism have kept communicable diseases at a high profile with both politicians and public, and have highlighted the huge effect of communicable diseases on both local and global economy.
The publication of the second edition of the Communicable disease control handbook is therefore timely and welcomed. The book is divided into five sections. Section one gives an explanation of how to use the book and briefly deals with very basic concepts in the epidemiology and control of infectious disease, and the requirements of an on-call doctor in public-health medicine. Section two addresses 11 common topics very briefly. These include meningitis and meningism, gastrointestinal infection, community-acquired pneumonia, sexually transmitted diseases, blood-borne viral infections, vaccine queries, etc. The main bulk of the book is taken up by section three, in which the microorganisms causing infectious diseases are listed in alphabetical order. Section four deals with the organisation of communicable disease control within the UK and covers surveillance, hospital and community infection control issues, infection risk to and from health-care workers, coordination of immunisation, tuberculosis, HIV infection, travel health, surveillance and investigation of environmental hazards, media relations, and clinical governance and audit. Section five gives a brief overview of structures for infectious disease notification and public health action in the 25 European Union (EU) member states, Norway, and Switzerland.
The book is written from the UK perspective and is mainly targeted at consultants in communicable disease control and public-health doctors with the aim of providing them with practical advice on various infectious diseases and conditions, and with a brief summary of chemical and radiation hazards. The addition of section five on the management arrangement of communicable diseases within the EU countries has extended its appeal to a broader European audience and with the recent expansion of the EU, major additions have been made to this section since the previous edition.
The book has an easy to read layout, with very clear subheadings. I especially applaud the use of boxes throughout the book for suggested “on-call action” and “case definition”, for clear visual separation of the subject matter, and rapid location of practical information. The index is comprehensive, which is essential for this kind of book. One of the main strengths of the book is that it contains details of plenty of useful websites, helping readers to access a wealth of up-to-date information quickly and easily.
This book is must for all communicable disease control consultants, public-health physicians, and environmental health officers in the UK. It also provides an excellent source of reference for all individuals with responsibility for the control of communicable diseases both in hospitals and the community within Europe. Since the coverage of microorganisms causing infectious diseases and advice on their control is not as comprehensive as the American classic Control of communicable diseases manual published by the American Public Health Association, the two books should be used in conjunction to provide more in-depth information on all communicable diseases.