(BKREV) Communicable and Non-Communicable Disease Basics: A Primer
Bergin & Garvey/Greenwood Publishing Group, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881. 154p., illus., bibliog., index. ISBN 0-89789-507-X, 0-89789-508-8pbk. $49.95, $16.95pbk.
Madeline M. Hurster. 1997.
Disease is the opposite of wellness or health. There are three biological laws of disease: 1. "Disease results when there is an imbalance between the host and the agent." 2. "The nature and extent of the imbalance are determined by the nature and charac teristics of the host and agent." and 3. "These characteristics are largely governed by conditions of the environment." In other words there are three players in disease--the person or host who is the target of the disease, the agent which causes the dis ease, and the environment which enhances or reduces the host's chances of resisting disease. For a disease to be communicable it must meet 4 criteria: the presence of a host, the presence of a disease-producing agent, a mode of transmission, and a mode of entry. All diseases that do not meet these 4 criteria are then called non-communicable diseases. In non-communicable disease, some part or parts of the body cease to function as they were intended.
Now comes the difficult part--disease prevention. "Unfortunately, being well informed about how to prevent a disease does not always result in behavior that will prevent it." Education can help but it is not the final answer, only the first step. Every one has to be involved from the individual to parents to schools to the government. The hardest part is getting individuals to change their behavior so that they do not get a disease. How true this is in the case of HIV/AIDS. As new therapies are devel oped, individuals become less concerned because they believe treatment will cure them. Then there are always those who want to take risks and not follow the rules of safe health. This book delves into all of these issues and provides test questions to s ee if you understand what you have read. A highly recommended book for all libraries and all age groups.
Copyright (c) 1999 - Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Reviews may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, redistribution , or translation, address requests to H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, PO Box 8198, Chicago, IL 60680 or electronically to hrm@uic.edu.
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Copyright © 1999 - The University of Illinois at Chicago. All materials in the journal are subject to copyright by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and may be reprinted or redistributed for the noncommercial purpose of scientific or educational advancement granted by Sections 107 and 108 of the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. For other reprinting, redistribution, or translation, address requests to H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Illinois at Chicago Library, PO Box 8198, Chicago, IL 60680 or electronically to hrm@uic.edu.
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