World of exotic diseases | |
Exotic viral diseases. A global guide. Stephen A Berger, Charles H Calisher, Jay S Keystone. Hamilton, Ontario: B C Decker, 2003 (xii + 252 pp + CDROM). ISBN 1 55009 205 7. |
Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS)* didn't make it into Exotic viral diseases, but every other exotic virus that might confound a healthcare worker did. This is the first clinical summary of the wide range of viral agents that have been dramatised in the media over past decades — and many have killed their fair share of healthcare workers. Many clinicians in North America would have found it convenient to have this succinct reference on hand when dealing, for the first time, with West Nile virus. Many clinicians in Australia will find it similarly valuable when confronted with a case that could be Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, dengue fever, or something entirely different.
The presentation and style are user friendly, with viruses in alphabetical order and appendices covering sample collection and diagnosis. Many of the graphs supporting the text are useful, although they would make an epidemiologist cringe — they are often presented as bar charts where histograms would have been better, or as hybrids of the two. Coverage is up-to-date and comprehensive, and the authors fulfil their aim of summarising the vast body of material in this field in a handy, pocket-sized volume. Information on each virus is given under headings broadly covering agent, reservoir, and vector; clinical presentation and diagnosis; and geographic distribution and further reading. The almost total absence of treatment suggestions will be disappointing to a clinician. For example, under dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) the only treatment suggestion is "Typical therapy: symptomatic." This would not be helpful to a house surgeon using the book to diagnose his or her first case of DHF. I make this point because two of the three authors are professors of medicine, yet Exotic viral diseases offers far fewer clinical insights than the public health based "bible" of communicable disease, Control of communicable diseases manual (by J Chin, Washington: American Public Health Association, 2000). Exotic viral diseases costs about $70 for 252 pages, compared with Chin at $100 for 624 pages. Most healthcare workers would consider Chin better value, and a more useful book, although the technologically minded virologist might find the mini-disk included with Exotic viral diseases appealing. Philip Weinstein *An addendum with a brief description of SARS, written early in the outbreak, was received after the book was reviewed.
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