Ebook: Bacterial Infection: Close Encounters at the Host Pathogen Interface

When it comes to bacterial disease, we are living in a state of false security. Antibiotics have indeed brought unprecedented health benefits, protection from and cure of bacterial diseases during the past 50 years. But there are ominous signs that the fortress and the defenses built on antibiotics are crumbling. They are crum­ bling because we wittingly or unwittingly created selective con­ ditions for the emergence of superior pathogens that can no longer be controlled by antibiotics. There are numerous warnings. After a long period of eclipse tuberculosis has now emerged as a serious threat unchecked by antibiotic treatment. Recent years have seen reports of cholera epidemics, of anthrax infections, of serious problems with Salmonella and even with E. coli, just to name a few. Mankind is in a race with microbial invaders. The challenge is to anticipate and respond to developments that affect the precarious balance between man and microbe. This will re­ quire new knowledge and it will take time for an effective appli­ cation of that knowledge.

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There are ominous signs that our defences against bacterial infections are crumbling. The past years have seen the emergence of superior pathogens that can no longer be controlled by antibiotics. We are in a race against microbial invaders. The challenge is to anticipate and respond to developments that affect the precarious balance between man and microbe. This volume presents articles from leading authorities on the frontiers of research probing molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenicity. Like many other areas of virology and medicine, this field has undergone a molecular and genetic revolution. Novel techniques and concepts are laying the groundwork for important advances in the control of bacterial disease.