Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA Review

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(More customer reviews)Based on my background in biological science, I was very, very excited to get this book, and I was not disappointed.
Maryn McKenna's new book SUPERBUG, deals with the development of MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), which is also known as a superbug, it is multiple-drug resistant and impressively deadly. It takes massive amounts of drugs with often serious side-effects to even have a chance of beating it.
Historically, MRSA was a disease of hospitals, and only in people that were already suffering from a weakened immune system - but that is no longer the case. A new strain has come up that affects people who have not had any contact with hospitals. It is known as community-acquired MRSA, and is surprisingly lethal.
McKenna's style is aptly suited to this type of book, as there is a lot of medical jargon that requires a deft hand to explain to people with little to no knowledge in that particular area. This is accomplished through what I can only describe as a massive amount of interviews and research with individuals whose lives have been affected by MRSA.
This book raises a lot of issues regarding the sanitary procedures performed at hospitals, the over-prescription of antibiotics in both people and animals, and the sheer speed in which MRSA can adapt.
Reading this book may seem like some sort of scare tactic, and it is. But it is the sort of thing people NEED to hear. McKenna uses people whose lives have been affected by MRSA to tell the story, and only breaks away from the narrative for context.
Simply put, it is a superbly written science book that reads like a novel.
There are parts of this book which may be difficult to read if you are squeamish, specifically where she describes the various symptoms that people infected with MRSA had to deal with. And, not all the people you meet throughout the book survive, as MRSA is an indiscriminate killer.
SUPERBUG is a very impressive book that has some very important lessons to teach us about microbial evolution, and the huge effect it can have on the human population.

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Medical and Veterinary Entomology Review

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(More customer reviews)very good book, the pictures drawings and details are very rich!
a must buy for entomology enthusiasts

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Medical and Veterinary Entomology is a comprehensive text and is primarily intended for graduate students and upper level undergraduates studying the medical and veterinary significance of insects and related arthropods. The book will also appeal to a larger audience, specialists and non-specialists alike, including entomologists, parasitologists, biologists, epidemiologists, physicians, public health personnel, veterinarians, wildlife specialists and others looking for a readable, authoritative book on this topic. The first two chapters provide overviews of medical-veterinary entomology and epidemiology, respectively. These are followed by individual chapters devoted to each group of insects or arachnids of medical-veterinary importance and the health problems they can cause including their role as vectors of pathogens. Each of these chapters provides an overview of the taxonomy, biology and ecology of the group, and is followed by separate sections on their medical and veterinary importance, then by a section on prevention and control and, finally, by a list of references and further reading. Key Features* Nationally and internationally renowned contributing authors* Up to date and new information that is easy to locate, with extensive subheadings and highlighted key words throughout text* Includes extensive coverage of arachnids, including scorpions, solpugids, spiders, mites and ticks* Designed for teaching several courses including Medical Entomology, Veterinary Entomology or combined Medical-Veterinary Entomology courses

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Diagnostic Medical Parasitology Review

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(More customer reviews)I had purchased this textbook for a Medical Parasitology course I took, and I initially had mixed feelings about the book. This review will be from an UNDERGRADUATE student perspective.
Pros:
+Lots of really good information (Life cycle, diagnostic criteria, treatment, etc.)
+Pictures and diagrams are helpful with identification
+Large appendix with everything from staining procedure to a list companies (contact info included) to purchase supplies from
Cons:
-Too much information for a single semester undergraduate course
-Can be a difficult read compared to Elizabeth Zeibig's Clinical Parasitology: A Practical Approach
Summary:
If you are an instructor teaching a single semester parasitology course for undergraduates, I would suggest you pass this book up on your required textbook list. That said, I would also tell your students that if they are pursuing a career in the field of Parasitology or plan on practicing medicine in developing nations that this textbook would be extremely valuable to their efforts in diagnosing and treating parasite infections as there are not only pictures and diagrams of the parasites, but also pictures of people who are infected and what the wounds look like.

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This major reference, now in its fifth edition, updates and advances the field of diagnostic medical parasitology and reports on the dramatic changes that have occurred in this field. It includes newly recognized parasites, updated information on immunology and pathogenesis, greatly expanded tables and photographs, a new section on medical case histories, among other exciting additions and updates. This work: offers a brand-new section containing medical case histories; features a greatly expanded section covering histological diagnosis; presents many new figures and summary tables; provides in one volume both comprehensive information about human parasitology and relevant diagnostic methods; and, includes a review of over 3,000 papers published since the release of the previous edition.

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Sherris Medical Microbiology, Fifth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)Don't throw away your Fourth Edition! The Fifth Edition has a lot to recommend it: much better artwork, more sensible organization of basic theory and microbe-specific detail, up-to-date pathophysiology and therapies, etc. In the Preface the editors state that much material has been "trimmed" to keep this edition the same size as the previous one. "Trimmed" is a euphemism for "dummied-down". They should have opted for a bigger book. First, they left out all the references; not a single one is to be found. This was a valuable feature of the Fourth Edition, and pointed to much relevant material for further study. A cryptic excuse for this is that the emphasis is on the "text narrative", not reference material. That's nonsense; all good medical textbooks have references.
There has been a turnaround of authors in this multi-authored book. The new guys seem to have ignored several changes in the taxonomy of bacteria and viruses, such as the designation of Flavivirus as a Family and the split of Papovavirus into Papillomavirus and Polyomavirus. The new tables still contain the old errors, such as asserting that Hepatitis B is a Family when in fact it belongs to the Hepadnaviridae Family. There are numerous little errors like this that have been carried over from the Fourth Edition; apparently, the new authors cut-and-pasted what looked good without examining it for accuracy.
The stuff that was "trimmed" was not "older and less important information", as stated in the Preface. The editors apparently have figured out that USMLE-obsessed students are more interested in answering test questions than understanding anything, so a lot of viral and bacterial anatomy has been cut. We can now view these entities as more of a black box than something with important innards.
Some of the ambiguous or unclear explanations of the Fourth Edition have been carried over to the Fifth, such as the description of the One Step Growth Experiment, which would be unintelligible were it not for Wikipedia.
I cannot find an errata page for any Lange textbook. This is a Good Thing, since we can now rest assured that there are never any errors in their books. Too bad there isn't a contact form for sending suggestions for improvement for the next edition; this is a really good book, but apparently they don't need the likes of you and me to make it even better. Don't bother sending suggestions to Customer Service; it will be filed away by someone unfamiliar with the word "enzyme".
The Preface references a web site which purportedly contains an "online learning center" with lots of extra stuff, like "additional cases, questions, and study aids". As of this writing, it is vaporware, and I've complained to the publisher. In fact, Lange doesn't even have a reference to this (Fifth) edition up yet. Maybe all this will be in place by the time you read this.
If you don't have the Fourth Edition, you can probably get it very cheap, and I suggest you do so (in addition to buying the Fifth Edition) for the references and the enhanced technical detail.


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No other text clarifies the link between microbiology and human disease states like Sherris Medical Microbiology

A Doody's Core Title for 2011!

4 STAR DOODY'S REVIEW!"This will continue to be a popular textbook, primarily due to the well-designed figures and pictures in all chapters. It is one of the better textbooks I have seen for teaching the basics of medical microbiology."--Doody's Review Service

For more than a quarter-of-a-century Sherris has been unmatched in its ability to help you understand the nature of microorganisms and their role in the maintenance of health or causation of disease. Through a dynamic, engaging approach, this classic text gives you a solid grasp of the significance of etiologic agents, the pathogenic processes, epidemiology, and the basis of therapy for infectious diseases.

The fifth edition has been completely revised to reflect this rapidly-moving field's latest developments and includes a host of learning aids including clinical cases, USMLE-type questions, marginal notes, and extensive new full-color art.

Features
66 chapters that simply and clearly describe the strains of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can bring about infectious diseases
Core sections on viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic diseases open with new chapters detailing basic biology, pathogenesis, and antimicrobial agents and feature a consistent presentation covering Organism (structure, replication, genetics, etc.), Disease (epidemiology, pathogenesis, immunity), and Clinical Aspects (manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, prevention)
Explanations of host-parasite relationship, dynamics of infection, and host response
USMLE-style questions and a clinical case conclude each chapter on the major viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic diseases
All tables, photographs, and illustrations are now in full color
Clinical Capsules cover the essence of the disease(s) caused by major pathogens
Marginal Notes highlight key points within a paragraph to facilitate review

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