Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Chapter 1 Chagas Disease-A Kiss of Death Carlos Chagas 1
Microbe Hunter Carlos Justiniano Ribeiro Chagas 1
The Life Cycle of T. Cruzi and Direct Transmission of Chagas Disease 4
Cycle of Chagas Disease 6
Indirect Transmission of Chagas Disease 8
Pathology and Epidemiology 9
Treatment and Prevention of Chagas Disease 11
Progress in the Fight Against Chagas Disease 12
The Legacy of Carlos Chagas 13
Chapter 2 The Mold That Changed the World Alexander Fleming 15
A Brief History of Antimicrobials 16
Microbe Hunter Alexander Fleming 17
The Discovery of Penicillin 21
Florey and Chain: The Development of Penicillin 22
Microbes and War 25
Scaling Up Penicillin Production 26
Controversy Over Therapeutic Significance 28
The Legacy of Alexander Fleming 29
Chapter 3 The Cause and Transmission of Epidemic Typhus Fever Charles Nicolle 35
Rickettsia: An Oddball Group of Bacteria 37
The Human Body Louse: Vector of Epidemic Typhus Fever 38
Microbe Hunter Charles Nicolle 39
The Pathology of Epidemic Typhus Fever 42
A History of Human Misery 43
Epidemic Typhus Today 46
The Legacy of Charles Nicolle 47
Chapter 4 Discovery of the Influenza Virus Richard E. Shope 49
Microbe Hunter Richard Edwin Shope 50
Viruses as the Cause of Swine Influenza 51
Viruses as the Cause of Human Influenza 52
Connecting the 1918 Human and Swine Influenza Viruses 53
The Nature of the Influenza Virus 55
Antigenic Shift and Antigenic Drift 57
Influenza Transmission and Epidemiology 58
The Influenza Vaccine 59
1918: The Mother of All Pandemics 61
The Mystery of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic 67
Avian Influenza 67
The Legacy of RichardEdwin Shope 68
Chapter 5 Development of the First Polio Vaccine Jonas Salk 69
Polio in History 70
Polio: The Virus and the Disease 71
Societal Effects of Polio 72
Microbe Hunter Jonas Salk 75
Inactivated Versus Live Attenuated Polio Vaccines 77
Polio on the Road to Eradication 81
The Legacy of Jonas Salk 83
Postscript: Author's Visit With Peter Salk 86
Chapter 6 Eradication of Smallpox Donald A. Henderson 89
Microbe Hunter Donald A. Henderson 91
The Nature of the Smallpox Virus 93
Transmission and Pathology of Smallpox 94
Smallpox in History 97
Smallpox Vaccination Edward Jenner 98
The Eradication of Smallpox 102
Smallpox as a Biological Weapon 106
The Legacy of Donald A. Henderson 109
Postscript: Personal Reflections of Donald A. Henderson 110
Chapter 7 Prions-All But the Moo D. Carleton Gajdusek Stanley Prusiner 111
History and Nature of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies 113
Microbe Hunter D. Carleton Gajdusek 115
Microbe Hunter Stanley Prusiner 122
Mad Cow Disease and Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease 126
The Species Leap 127
Countering Mad Cow Disease 130
How Safe Are We? 133
The Legacy of D. Carleton Gadjusek Stanley Prusiner 134
Chapter 8 Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-A 20th Century Ongoing Plague Robert C. Gallo Luc Montagnier 137
The History of AIDS 138
The Societal Impact of AIDS 140
Discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus 142
Microbe Hunter Robert C. Gallo 143
Microbe Hunter Luc Montagnier 145
The Controversy Over the Discovery of HIV 147
Replication of HIV 148
Pathology of AIDS 151
Origin and Spread of HIV/AIDS 152
Transmission of HIV 153
Does HIV Really Cause AIDS? 155
Treatment of HIV/AIDS and the Search for a Vaccine 156
The Legacy of Robert Gallo Luc Montagnier 160
Postscript: Author's Visit With Luc Montagnier 160
Chapter 9 Ulcers-A Bacterial Infection Barry Marshall J. Robin Warren 163
Microbe Hunters J. Robin Warren Barry Marshall and the Discovery of Helicobacter pylori 167
Pathology of Ulcers 170
Biology of Helicobacter pylori 173
The Legacy of J. Robin Warren Barry Marshall 176
Chapter 10 Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease Donald R. Hopkins 179
Microbe Hunter Donald R. Hopkins 180
Biology of Dracunculus medinensis 182
Working to Eradicate Guinea Worm Disease 186
Breaking the Cycle of Transmission 192
The Legacy of Donald R. Hopkins 196
Postscript: Author's Visit with Dr. Hopkins 197
