Disease Evolution: Models, Concepts, and Data Analyses

Disease Evolution: Models, Concepts, and Data Analyses
ISBN-10
0821837532
ISBN-13
9780821837535
Category
Mathematics
Pages
237
Language
English
Published
2006
Publisher
American Mathematical Soc.
Authors
Simon A. Levin, Ulf Dieckmann, Zhilan Feng

Description

Infectious diseases are continuing to threaten humankind. While some diseases have been controlled, new diseases are constantly appearing. Others are now reappearing in forms that are resistant to drug treatments. A capacity for continual re-adaptation furnishes pathogens with the power to escape our control efforts through evolution. This makes it imperative to understand the complex selection pressures that are shaping and reshaping diseases. Modern models of evolutionary epidemiology provide powerful tools for creating, expressing, and testing such understanding. Bringing together international leaders in the field, this volume offers a panoramic tour of topical developments in understanding the mechanisms of disease evolution. The volume's first part elucidates the general concepts underlying models of disease evolution. Methodological challenges addressed include those posed by spatial structure, stochastic dynamics, disease phases and classes, single- and multi-drug resistance, the heterogeneity of host populations and tissues, and the intricate coupling of disease evolution with between-host and within-host dynamics. The book's second part shows how these methods are utilized for investigating the dynamics and evolution of specific diseases, including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, SARS, malaria, and human rhinovirus infections. This volume is particularly suited for introducing young scientists and established researchers with backgrounds in mathematics, computer science, or biology to the current techniques and challenges of mathematical evolutionary epidemiology.

Get the book

Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Search the book
eBay.com
eBay.com
Search the book

Other editions

Similar books