Viruses vs. Superbugs: A Solution to the Antibiotics Crisis?

ISBN-13: 9780230551930 / Angielski / Miękka / 2006 / 314 str.

Joel N Shurkin

Opis

In the US alone some 90,000 people die from superbugs--bacteria that have grown immune to antibiotics. Officials agree that this problem will only get worse with time and new alternatives must be found. One alternative that is being considered by scientists is a kind of virus called a bacteriophage. "Phages"--viruses that kill bacteria but not humans--were discovered in 1915. Phage therapy was successfully used for twenty years before the invention of penicillin made them obsolete everywhere but Eastern Europe, where they are still in use today. In its first English translation, this book tells the fascinating story behind the history of the phage, its discovery and development, as well as the strides that are being made to bring the therapy back to the West today.

Recenzje

'An exceptionally thorough book, extraordinarily well written and scientifically authoritative, a book about an explosive subject, that could not have been done better.' - Spektrum der Wissenschaften, the German Scientific American

'Thomas Häusler paints a vivid and engaging picture of the larger-than-life characters who committed themselves to the development of phage therapy. The science is there - in easily understandable language - but so are Stalin's purges and the Second World War. Horror stories about pus-discharging wounds bring the reader down to earth regularly as well. Bacteriophage therapy has not yet taken off - but promise is there. This authoritative book explains why.' - Professor T. Hugh Pennington, President of the British Society for General Microbiology

'This book is scientific journalism at its best....His thoughtful interviews and strong, ongoing scholarship bring to life the work of Felix d'Herelle and his scientific descendents in tantalizing and accessible fashion and give strong reason to believe that phages can, indeed, be a powerful aid in dealing with the pressing antibiotic crisis.' - Professor Elizabeth Kutter, Evergreen State College, Olympia, USA

'The reader will put down this page-turner inspired, hopeful, and utterly convinced of phage therapy's imminence and inevitability. An indispensable primer for everyone concerned with the onset of the post-antibiotic age.' - Asher Wilf, CEO, Phage-Biotech

'This book is scientific journalism at its best. Häusler shares with us the fascinating fruits of a remarkable year-long odyssey in time and space, during which he explored the depths of archives old and new from the Pasteur Institute to NIH to Los Angeles hospitals to Tbilisi to German companies, digging out long-lost records of far more work (and success) with phage therapy than anyone knew existed. His thoughtful interviews and strong, ongoing scholarship bring to life the work of Felix d'Herelle and his scientific descendents in tantalizing and accessible fashion and give strong reason to believe that phages can, indeed, be a powerful aid in dealing with the pressing antibiotic crisis.' - Professor Elizabeth Kutter, Evergreen State College, Olympia, USA

'Thomas Häusler paints a vivid and engaging picture of the larger-than-life characters who committed themselves to the development of phage therapy. The science is there - in easily understandable language - but so are Stalin's purges and the Second World War. Horror stories about pus-discharging wounds bring the reader down to earth regularly as well. Bacteriophage therapy has not yet taken off - but promise is there. This authoritative book explains why.' - Professor T. Hugh Pennington, president of the British Society for General Microbiology

'This book, documented with rare photographs and abundant references, is scientific journalism at its best and a fascinating contribution to the history of medicine. Phages are now produced by a number of companies and appear, provided that they are used by responsible and knowledgeable practitioners, to be a promising alternative to antibiotics.' - Professor Hans-Wolfgang Ackermann, Laval University, Canada

'The reader will put down this page-turner inspired, hopeful, and utterly convinced of phage therapy's imminence and inevitability. An indispensable primer for everyone concerned with the onset of the post-antibiotic age.' - Asher Wilf, CEO, Phage-Biotech

'An exceptionally thorough book, extraordinarily well written and scientifically authoritative. A book about an explosive subject, that could not have been done better.' - Spektrum der Wissenschaften, the German Scientific American

'Thomas Häusler's gripping book traces the story of the rise, the fall and the possible renaissance of bacteriophages as drugs.' - Basler Zeitung

'The Swiss science journalist Thomas Häusler has written an extremely compelling popular science book.' - Laborjournal

'Häusler tells a forgotten chapter of the history of medicine that ends in the present with a surprising comeback. Riveting.' - Schweizerische Ärztezeitung

'Unusually well-researched, outstandingly well-written. This book deserves to be on the shelf of every private and public library.' - Epoch Times

'FOUR STARS: A good book - excellent use of the stories of real people involved in the fight against bacteria.' - www.popularscience.co.uk

'A salient and thought provoking take on society's attitudes toward disease and medicine.' - www.scienceagogo.com

'All the ingredients of a John Le Carré spy novel: fascinating.' - EMBO Reports

'A thoroughly scholarly account, in a highly entertaining narrative form. A compelling read, populated with fascinating characters.' - Micro Today

'A page turner, full of human drama and the race for discovery.' - Idaho Statesman

'Valuable reading, both for specialists and for interested general readers.' - JAMA

Spis treści

Preface Foreword At the Limits of Medicine Invincible Microbes The Pioneer Era The Renaissance A Parallel Universe Keepers of the Grail in Peril Resurrection What's the Future? Appendix Notes and References Index

O autorze

THOMAS HÄUSLER is Chief Science Editor of the Swiss news magazine, Facts. He has won several awards for his journalistic work, including one for an article about phage therapy in the world-renowned German weekly Die Zeit.