Evolution of Infectious Disease

Bol

Findings from the field of evolutionary biology are yielding dramatic insights for health scientists, especially those involved in the fight against infectious diseases. This book is the first in-depth presentation of these insights. In detailing why the pathogens that cause malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and AIDS have their special kinds of deadliness, the book shows how efforts to control virtually all diseases would benefit from a more thorough application of evolutionary principles. When viewed from a Darwinian perspective, a pathogen is not simply a disease-causing agent, it is a self-replicating organism driven by evolutionary pressures to pass on as many copies of itself as possible. In this context, so-called "cultural vectors"--those aspects of human behavior and the human environment that allow spread of disease from immobilized people--become more important than ever. Interventions to control diseases don't simply hinder their spread but can cause pathogens and the diseases they engender to evolve into more benign forms. In fact, the union of health science with evolutionary biology offers an entirely new dimension to policy making, as the possibility of determining the future course of many diseases becomes a reality. By presenting the first detailed explanation of an evolutionary perspective on infectious disease, the author has achieved a genuine milestone in the synthesis of health science, epidemiology, and evolutionary biology. Written in a clear, accessible style, it is intended for a wide readership among professionals in these fields and general readers interested in science and health.

Bol Partner

Aimed at evolutionary biologists, ecologists and epidemiologists, this extended essay presents an evolutionary-biological perspective of human infectious disease. Ewald is the first author to present a Darwinian perspective on infectious disease, which opens up a whole new approach to health science, one that emphasizes new possibilities for combatting deadly diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS. Taking an evolutionary approach, Ewald views disease-producing bacteria and viruses as parasites and explains the history of disease as a host-parasite relationship, one which can evolve in many different effects on the host population. He explains why the agents of cholera, malaria, and AIDS are so dangerous and why treatment of virtually all diseases would be improved by applications of evolutionary principles. This merging of evolutionary biology with health sciences offers a new dimension to policy-making in the health sciences by identifying interventions that will force infectious organisms to evolve toward a benign state, to subdue the plagues of the past and help us to avert the plagues of the future. A wholly readable account of an enthralling and important subject of concern to us all.