The Invisible Enemy by Dorothy Crawford, Oxford University Press,
拢14.99, ISBN 0198503326
WHO would have predicted that viruses and virologists would ever star in
major movies and best-selling books? Outbreak and its cousins gave
everyone a crash course in the stark reality that infectious diseases are an
increasing threat to human health.
We had become complacent. The advent and widespread use of antibiotics in the
middle of the 20th century certainly created a sense of optimism. At last
doctors seemed to have the ultimate control of infectious diseases within their
grasp. But fifty years later this was clearly not so. Medical research still
faces a formidable challenge.
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It鈥檚 a huge problem. Never before have people been so aware of infectious
diseases and so bombarded by information and misinformation about the threat of
bacterial and viral infections and treatment options. Every day, the news media
report on the rapidly increasing resistance of microbes to antibiotics, the
global impact of AIDS, and the unpredictable outbreaks of new deadly infectious
agents such as Hanta and Ebola viruses. Only this month, dozens of people in
Uganda died of the haemorrhagic disease caused by Ebola. Never before have we so
needed clear, concise sources of information on what causes these
infections.
Dorothy Crawford has taken on the job of getting us up to speed with The
Invisible Enemy: A natural history of viruses. A distinguished medical
microbiologist at Edinburgh University, she has produced an engaging book that
explores the world of viruses and their past and future impact on humans. Like
the viruses that she describes, the text packs an incredible amount of
information into a small package鈥攁nd in a succinct, accurate and effective
way .
Crawford tells a story that weaves an intricate but cohesive tapestry of fact
and fiction, science and politics, history and visions of the future. Her
writing style immediately captures the attention of the reader. Each chapter
seductively introduces the reader to increasingly complex aspects of viruses and
their interactions with humans in a way that is easy to read and understand. By
the time you have finished the last chapter, you have been painlessly inoculated
with a remarkable range of information on molecular genetics, immunology,
microbiology and epidemiology. More importantly you should be well able to
evaluate the daily media stories on viral infections and make informed decisions
about family medical treatments for viral infections.
The substance is as good as the style. Crawford鈥檚 information is consistently
accurate, up to date, and interesting. After clearly explaining the basic
concepts of viruses and how these tiny organisms differ from bacteria and other
infectious agents, she tackles the hard stuff. Emerging viral diseases from
equine morbillivirus, Ebola and Hanta to HIV-1鈥攑resent us with a new set
of puzzles to solve, very different from those set by the acute viral infections
we have come to know so well, such as influenza, polio and the common cold. She
shows how the problems of persistent viral infections such as herpes and HIV,
differ from those presented by viruses associated with cancer, which include
Epstein Barr virus, hepatitis, and papilloma. Crawford combines historical
perspectives with the most recent discoveries about each virus. She also sets
out the theories about diseases that might be triggered by viruses, such as
multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and Gulf War syndrome.
Politics counts
Following this virus parade, she adds an intriguing and informative
discussion about the treatment of viral diseases鈥攑ast, present and future.
Here she is particularly successful in communicating the scientific and
political issues that influence the development of antiviral treatments, whether
against smallpox in the 18th century or AIDS in the 21st century.
Her last gift to the reader is a novel perspective on viruses: Crawford
classifies them as old, new and reborn. Then she weighs up their future impact
on humans as friend or foe.
I recommend The Invisible Enemy to anyone with questions about the
nature of viruses and their role in human diseases. Crawford offers new
knowledge and insights for any reader, regardless of the depth of their science
education. For the general reader, she has provided an engaging source of
information that can be read more than once, each time with new discoveries and
deeper insights into the mysteries of these fascinating microbes. For the
scientist or physician, this book is an important model for effective
communication of complicated issues about viral diseases. The Invisible
Enemy is a clear and powerful beacon that penetrates the increasingly dense
fog of media reports, folklore and myths about the threat of viruses to human
health.