In all likelihood, we always will.
Glossary
Aedes aegypti The mosquito vector for dengue and yellow fever
AIDS Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a progressive deterioration of the immune system caused by the HIV virus. Transmitted by the exchange of bodily fluids.
antibiotic A class of medical toxins produced by a variety of fungi and bacteria that inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria. Ineffective against viruses.
bacillus A rod-shaped bacterium
bacterium Any single-celled microbe without a nucleus
chimera A fabulous monster; an impossible or foolish fancy; in biology, a living structure or organism created by grafting together or recombining parts of other organisms
cholera A disease caused by the waterborne pathogen Vibrio cholerae that leads to mild to lethal diarrhea and dehydration
coccus A spherical bacterium
dengue A hemorrhagic fever, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
diphtheria An inflammatory disease of the air passages
encephalitis Inflammation of the brain
endemic Specific to a region or people (as a disease)
epidemic Widely prevalent (as a disease)
fluke A parasitic flatworm that lives in the blood of mammals
gangrene Death of the tissue in part of the body
hemorrhagic Accompanied by bleeding
hepatitis Inflammation of the liver
HIV Human immunodeficiency virus; the cause of AIDS
influenza An acute infectious viral disease of the respiratory tract
inoculate To implant a virus or bacterium in the human body
measles An infectious viral disease characterized by a red rash
meningitis Inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord
microbe A microscopic organism, invisible to the eye
mumps A viral disease consisting of inflammation of the salivary glands, with swelling in the neck
nosocomial A type of infection that is acquired while a patient is in a hospital
pandemic Prevalent in a country, continent, or the entire world (as a disease)
pertussis Also known as whooping cough; an infection of the respiratory system
phlebotomy Therapeutic bloodletting. In Galenic medicine, used to help rebalance the bodily “humors.”
plague A general term for all epidemic disease; specifically, bubonic plague, a widespread disease with a high mortality rate caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis
protozoan A single-celled microscopic animal
resistance The ability of a creature’s immune system to withstand a disease, antibiotic, pesticide, or other environmental insult
rheumatic fever An inflammatory disease that may develop after an infection with streptococcus bacteria
river blindness An infestation of filarial worms that causes scarring in the eyes and progressive blindness
SARS Severe acute respiratory syndrome; a highly infectious flulike respiratory disorder caused by a corona virus. The vector for this illness is the civet cat.
smallpox A highly infectious viral disease caused by the variola virus, characterized by painful raised bumps (pustules) that scar the skin
spirochete A screw-shaped bacterium
staphylococcus A perfectly spherical bacterium that clusters like grapes
streptococcus A type of oblong spherical bacterium, usually linked in chains
syphilis A sexually transmitted disease, caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum, resulting in skin cancers, disturbances of the immune system, and ultimately infections of the bones, muscles, and brain
Toxoplasma gondii A protozoan that inhabits most mammals and that in human beings causes changes in personality and behavior. Can cause brain damage in fetuses and dementia in immune-compromised hosts.
tuberculosis A disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that can manifest in the bones, stomach, skin, and lymph system, but most often appears in the lungs; characterized by the production of round nodules called tubercles
typhoid An often fatal bacterial disease characterized by intestinal ulceration and inflammation; caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhosa
typhus An acute infectious, often fatal disease transmitted by fleas and lice, caused by Rickettsia prowazekii; characterized by reddish spots on the body, severe nervous symptoms, and prostration
vaccina The cowpox virus, used to immunize against smallpox
vaccine Modified microorganisms used for preventative inoculation
variola The virus that causes smallpox
vector An organism that transmits a disease
vibrio A comma-shaped bacterium
virus Any of a class of submicroscopic pathogens that are dependent on the host cell for growth and reproduction
West Nile virus A sometimes fatal viral illness transmitted by the Culex pipiens mosquito
yellow fever A hemorrhagic fever caused by a virus in the family Flaviviridae; transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Endemic to Africa and the Americas.
Yersinia pestis The bacterium that causes bubonic plague
Sources
For further reading, books for younger readers are bulleted.
Achenbach, Joel. 2003. “Our Friend, the Plague: Can Germs Keep Us Healthy?” National Geographic. November. http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/resources_who.html.
Barnes, David S. 1995. The Making of a Social Disease: Tuberculosis in Nineteenth-Century France. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Cantor, Norman F. 2002. In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made. New York: The Free Press.
Crosby, Alfred W. 1986. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900–1900. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———. 1989. America’s Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Darling, Kathy. 2000. There’s a Zoo on You. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press.
Dawkins, Richard. 1989 [1976]. The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Diamond, Jared. 1997. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Duffin, Jacalyn. 1999. History of Medicine: A Scandalously Short Introduction. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Dunavan, Claire Panosian. 2003. “Just an Upset Stomach?” Discover. July, 28–29.
Farmer, Paul. 1999. Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues. Berkeley: University of California Press.
———. 2003. Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Farrell, Jeanette. 1998. Invisible Enemies: Stories of Infectious Disease. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Flegr, Jaroslav. 1994. “Influence of Chronic Toxoplasmosis on Some Human Personality Factors.” www.natur.cuni.cz/~flegr/toxo94.htm.
• Frerichs, Ralph R. 2003. “John Snow.” www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html.
Fukuda, Mahito. 2003. “Romantic Images of Tuberculosis: A Cultural History of a Disease.” Graduate School of Languages and Cultures, Nagoya University. www.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/~medicine/conference/disease/fukuda.htm.
Gadsby, Patricia. 1999. “Fear of Flu.” Discover. January, 82–89.
Garrett, Laurie. 1994. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
———. 2000. Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health. New York: Hyperion.
• Giblin, James Cross; David Frampton (illustrator). 1995. When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS. New York: HarperCollins.
Glassner, Barry. 1999. The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things. New York: Basic Books.
Hoffman, Alexander von. 1
998. The Origins of American Housing Reform. Cambridge: Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University.
• Johnson, Thomas J. 2003. “A History of Biological Warfare from 300 B.C.E. to the Present.” www.aarc.org/resources/biological/history.asp.
Kidder, Tracy. 2003. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. New York: Random House.
Kolata, Gina. 1999. Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Lappe, Marc. 1994. Evolutionary Medicine: Rethinking the Origins of Disease. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.
Levenson, Jay A. (editor). 1991. Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Loewen, James W. 1995. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. New York: Touchstone.
Longmate, Norman. 1966. King Cholera. London: Hamish Hamilton.
Mann, Charles C. 2002. “1491.” Atlantic Monthly. March, 41–53.
McNeill, William H. 1974. Plagues and Peoples. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Palumbi, Stephen R. 2001. “Humans as the World’s Greatest Evolutionary Force.” Science. September 7, 1786–90.
Porter, Roy. 2004. Flesh in the Age of Reason: The Modern Foundations of Body and Soul. New York: W. W. Norton and Company.
Rappuoli, Rino, Henry I. Miller, and Stanley Falkow. 2002. “The Intangible Value of Vaccination.” Science. August 7, 937–41.
Rock, Andrea. 2004. “Toxic Tipping Point.” Mother Jones. March/April, 68–77.
Rose, Mark. 1996. “Yaws Origin.” Archaeology 49, 3. www.archaeology.org/9605/newsbriefs/yaws.html.
———. 1997. “Origins of Syphilis.” Archaeology 50, 1. www.archaeology.org/9701/newsbriefs/syphilis.html.
• Saghir, Tarek. 1999. “Science in Islam: Islamic Influence on the European Renaissance; Islamic Impact on Medicine.” www.islamic-paths.org/Home/English/History/Science/Medicine.htm.
Sontag, Susan. 1978. Illness as Metaphor. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
———. 1989. AIDS and Its Metaphors. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Specter, Michael. 2005. “Nature’s Bioterrorist.” The New Yorker. February 28, 50–61.
Spielman, Andrew, and Michael D’Antonio. 2001. Mosquito: A Natural History of Our Most Persistent and Deadly Foe. New York: Hyperion.
Terazawa, Aya, Rusli Muljono, Lisawati Susanto, Sri Margono, and Eiji Konishi. 2003. “High Toxoplasma Antibody Prevalence Among Inhabitants in Jakarta, Indonesia.” Journal of Infectious Disease 56: 107–9.
Thomson, Jim. 2000. “The Haitian Revolution and the Forging of America.” The History Teacher. November. www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/34.1/thomson.html.
Tschanz, David W. 1999. “Typhus Fever on the Eastern Front in World War I.” http://scarab.msu.montana.edu/historybug/WWI/TEF.htm.
———. 1999. “Yellow Fever and the Strategy of the Mexican-American War.” http://scarab.msu.montana.edu/historybug/mexwar/mexwar.htm.
Tuchman, Barbara W. 1978. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
University of the Witwatersrand, Molecular Mycobacteriology Research Unit. 2003. “The History of Human Tuberculosis.” www.wits.ac.za/myco/index.htm.
Ward, Peter. 2001. Future Evolution: An Illuminated History of Life to Come. New York: Times Books.
Webster, Donovan. 2000. “Malaria Kills One Child Every 30 Seconds.” Smithsonian. September, 32–44.
Wong, George. 2003. “The Aftermath of Penicillin.” www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Lect23.htm.
Zimmer, Carl. 2000. Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature’s Most Dangerous Creatures. New York: The Free Press.
About the Author
Bryn Barnard has been vaccinated for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, smallpox, typhoid, polio, influenza, cholera, yellow fever, rabies, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and Japanese encephalitis. He has taken chloroquine and mefloquine to prevent malaria and penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and streptomycin to stop bacterial infections. His water is filtered and chlorinated. He washes his hands several times each day.
Bryn’s previous book for Crown was Dangerous Planet: Natural Disasters That Changed History , which Booklist praised as “fascinating” and “engaging” in a starred review. He studied art at the University of California-Berkeley and illustration at Art Center College of Design. Bryn lives with his wife and two children in the San Juan Islands, Washington, along with a dog, two cats, two lizards, six ducks, and an assortment of microbes.