Volume 48/Number 2/Abstract 13
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Volume 48 Tables of Contents

Acta Parasitologica, Vol.48, No. 2, 2003, 142
Zdzislaw Swiderski (1), Krzysztof Siuda (2), Danuta Prokopowicz (3) - Encyclopedia of Arthropod-transmitted Infections of Man and Domesticated Animals (Ed. M.W. Service), CABI Publishing 2001, ISBN 0 85199 473 3, pp. 579

(1) W. Stefanski Institute of Parasitology Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, (2) Institute of Biology Pedagogical University, Krakow, (3) Medical School, Bialystok; Poland
BOOK REVIEW

"Encyclopedia of Arthropod-transmitted Infections of Man and Domesticated Animals" is an undertaking of broad scope and it attempts to cover a very wide range of infections of both medical and veterinary importance. It is the product of numerous authors, 88 in total, all well-known specialists in their fields of research. Among them are also five advisers in different fields: R.W. Ashford (parasitology), C.H. Calisher (arboviruses), B.F. Eldridge (entomology), T.W Jones (veterinary parasitology) and G. Wyatt (medicine). Overall, there are 149 entries, all arranged by subjects in alphabetical order. Each entry is accompanied by its author's name and a selected list of relevant publications, which increases its value to the reader. Most entries fit the title by being descriptions of arthropod-transmitted infections, including their distribution, diagnosis, clinical symptoms, treatment and control, characteristics of pathogens and their life cycles, reservoir hosts, vectors of pathogens and mode of transmission. There is a selected bibliography for each entry. In addition to the above-mentioned entries, there are ancillary entries containing descriptions of particular groups of arthropod vectors, number of species and their taxonomic positions, their biology, diagnostic features and control, and also a selected bibliography on each of these topics. In the various entries the level of detail is greatly determined by the individual author's specialty and predilections. For example, the entries written by physicians have much more detail on treatments, whereas other entries emphasize epidemiology, prevention and control. The successful outcome of this enormous work is a credit to the drive and tenacity of its editor. In this encyclopedia are included 125 arthropod-transmitted diseases. Among them, 67 are produced by viruses, 15 by rickettsiae, 4 by spirochaetes, 3 by other bacteria, 22 by protozoans, 12 by nematodes (namely filariae), and 2 by other worms. The pathogens of these 125 diseases are transmitted by: Diptera: Nematocera, 108 pathogens; Diptera: Brachycera, 19 pathogens; Hemiptera, 4 pathogens; Anoplura, 7 pathogens; Siphonaptera, 8 pathogens; Ixodidae, 51 pathogens; Argasidae, 8 pathogens; mites, 5 pathogens; haematophagic arthropods (in general), 4 pathogens. Characteristics are covered for several groups of arthropod vectors, such as ticks, mites, flies, true bugs, fleas, sucking lice, mosquitoes, beetles, and cockroaches. This encyclopedia will prove valuable not only to students of medicine, veterinary medicine, parasitology and specialized biology courses in vector-borne diseases, but also to their teachers. It also can be a very useful source of accurate, condensed information, as well as a recently selected bibliography, for specialists in microbiology, virology, medical parasitology, physicians and veterinarians. We hope that the Polish translation and Polish edition of this very useful encyclopedia will become available in the future for Polish-speaking readers.



Page compiled by M. Bultowicz. Last modification: 05-08-2003