Beasts of the earth : animals, humans, and disease
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Beasts of the earth : animals, humans, and disease
Rutgers University Press, c2005
- : hbk
- Other Title
-
Beasts of the earth
Available at 3 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Contents of Works
- The smallest passengers on Noah's ark
- Heirloom infections : microbes before the advent of humans
- Humans as hunters : animal origins of bioterrorism
- Humans as farmers : microbes move into the home
- Humans as villagers : microbes in the promised land
- Humans as traders : microbes get passports
- Humans as pet-keepers : microbes move into the bedroom
- Humans as diners : mad cows and sane chickens
- Microbes from the modern food chain : lessons from SARS, influenza, and bird flu
- The coming plagues : lessons from AIDS, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease
- A four-footed viewof history
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Humans have lived in close proximity to other animals for thousands of years. Recent scientific studies have even shown that the presence of animals has a positive effect on our physical and mental health. People with pets typically have lower levels of cholesterol and lower blood pressure, show fewer symptoms of depression, and tend to get more exercise. But there is a darker side to the relationship between animals and humans. Animals are carriers of harmful infectious agents and the source of a myriad of human diseases. In recent years, the emergence of high-profile illnesses such as AIDS, SARS, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease has drawn much public attention, but as E. Fuller Torrey and Robert H. Yolken reveal, the transfer of deadly microbes from animals to humans is neither a new nor an easily avoided problem. Beginning with the domestication of farm animals nearly 10,000 years ago, Beasts of the Earth traces the ways that human-animal contact has evolved over time. Today, shared living quarters, overlapping ecosystems, and experimental surgical practices such as those that transplant organs or tissues from nonhumans into humans, continue to open new avenues for the transmission of infectious agents. Other changes in human behavior, such as increased air travel, automated food processing, and threats of bioterrorism are increasing the contagion factor, by transporting microbes further distances and to larger populations in virtually no time at all. While the authors urge that a better understanding of past diseases may help us lessen the severity of some illnesses, they also warn that given our increasingly crowded planet, it is not a question of if, but when and how often animal-transmitted diseases will pose serious challenges to human health in the future.
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