infectious disease: References & Edit History
More Articles On This Topic
- animal diseaseInfectious and noninfectious diseases
- joint diseaseInfectious arthritis
- bone diseaseInfectious diseases of bone
- Central AfricaDevelopment of the slave trade
- childhood disease and disorderClassic infectious diseases of childhood
- common cold
- prenatal developmentFetal deviations
- feces
- global warmingEnvironmental consequences of global warming
- louse
- pregnancyInflammation of the placenta
- human diseaseInfectious agents
- renal system diseaseRenal disorders in pregnancy
- history of EuropeHealth and sickness
- eye diseaseInflammatory conditions of the orbit
- public healthThe Middle Ages
- hand sanitizerEffectiveness
- herd immunity
- pharmaceutical industryDiscovery of antiseptics and vaccines
- immune systemSpecific, acquired immunity
- immunizationCharacteristics
- nursingHistory of nursing
- ProMED-mail
- medicinePublic health practice
- public healthInfectious disease control
- Ignaz Semmelweis
- steroidGlucocorticoids and cortisol
- phylogenyApplications of phylogeny
- vaccineVaccine types
- World Organisation for Animal Health
Additional Reading
General information
Gerald L. Mandell, John E. Bennett, and Raphael Dolin (eds.), Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett’s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 7th ed. (2010), is a modern textbook that the general reader may find informative and useful. H.A.K. Rowland and Philip D. Welsby, A Color Atlas of Infectious Diseases, 4th ed. (2003), reveals through the use of color photographs the actual clinical features associated with various infectious diseases. Laurie Garrett, The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance (1994), is a Pulitzer Prize-winning account that focuses on emerging infectious diseases. Richard M. Krause (ed.), Emerging Infections: Biomedical Research Reports (1998, reissued 2000), is an excellent collection of articles edited by the former director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. King K. Holmes (ed.), Sexually Transmitted Diseases, 4th ed. (2008), is a well-written text on a facet of infectious disease that is assuming increasing importance in society. Paul W. Ewald, Evolution of Infectious Disease (1993, reissued 1996), an accessible work, was the first to present a Darwinian perspective on infectious disease.
History of infectious disease
André Siegfried, Routes of Contagion (also published as Germs and Ideas: Routes of Epidemics and Ideologies, 1965; originally published in French, 1960); and Henry E. Sigerist, Civilization and Disease (1943, reissued 1970), deal with the effect of disease on human life and history; both are nontechnical. William H. McNeill, Plagues and Peoples (1976, reissued 1998), is a modern classic that looks at the role of epidemics in human history from an interdisciplinary perspective. Two other excellent books on the history of infectious disease are Charles-Edward Amory Winslow, The Conquest of Epidemic Disease: A Chapter in the History of Ideas (1943, reprinted 1980); and H. Zinsser, Rats, Lice, and History (1935, reissued 2000).
Article Contributors
Primary Contributors
- Andrew Barnett Christie
-
Ralph D. Feigin
President and chief executive officer, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
-
Renu Garg
Pediatrician.
Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors
Article History
| Type | Description | Contributor | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modified link of Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Communicable Diseases and Outbreak Control. | Oct 16, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: Open Library Publishing Platform - Microbiology: Canadian Edition - Characteristics of Infectious Disease. | Feb 04, 2026 | ||
| Add new Web site: ABC listen - Life Matters - Infectious diseases. | Nov 18, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: Academia - The Role of Herd Immunity in Control of Contagious Diseases (PDF). | Jul 09, 2025 | ||
| Added an illustration showing the basic reproduction number for select viral diseases. | Apr 10, 2025 | ||
| Added an image showing the cycle of transmission for West Nile virus. | Feb 26, 2025 | ||
| Cross-references added. | Feb 11, 2025 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Hair loss in guinea pigs. | Dec 09, 2024 | ||
| Added cross-reference. | Sep 13, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Nature - Infectious disease in an era of global change. | Jun 26, 2024 | ||
| Added information on vaccines against COVID-19. | Jun 21, 2024 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 11, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: WebMD - How to Avoid Infectious Diseases. | Apr 02, 2024 | ||
| Add new Web site: Baylor College of Medicine - Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology - Introduction to Infectious Diseases. | Sep 08, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Communicable Diseases and Outbreak Control. | Mar 23, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Chemistry LibreTexts - Organic Chemistry of Drugs. | Feb 09, 2023 | ||
| Add new Web site: Cleveland Clinic - Infectious Disease. | Dec 26, 2022 | ||
| Add new Web site: Medicine LibreTexts - Communicable (Infectious) Diseases. | Sep 16, 2022 | ||
| Added mention of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. | May 01, 2020 | ||
| Added information on infectious viruses. | Jan 31, 2020 | ||
| Changed "microorganisms" to "infectious agents" in the introduction and added information on the ability of infectious diseases to spread from person to person. | Oct 23, 2019 | ||
| Add new Web site: World Health Organization - Infectious Diseases. | May 18, 2018 | ||
| Media added. | May 18, 2017 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 22, 2016 | ||
| Media added. | Apr 14, 2016 | ||
| Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Infectious Disease. | Apr 11, 2014 | ||
| Updated information on necrotizing fasciitis, streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, and Chlamydophila psittaci. | Jul 03, 2010 | ||
| Updated information about population density and the spread of infectious disease. | Jul 02, 2010 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | Jul 02, 2010 | ||
| Media added. | Jul 10, 2008 | ||
| Added new Web site: American Museum of Natural History - Disease and Eradication. | Jul 12, 2006 | ||
| Article has cross ref to a deleted article. Delete/reset CrossRef Id = 1581372 | May 25, 2006 | ||
| Bibliography revised. | May 25, 2006 | ||
| Article revised and updated. | May 25, 2006 | ||
| Article revised. | Feb 26, 2001 | ||
| Article revised. | Nov 17, 2000 | ||
| Article revised. | Oct 18, 2000 | ||
| Article added to new online database. | Jul 20, 1998 |