Hardly a day goes by without news headlines concerning infectious disease threats. Currently the spectre of a pandemic of influenza A|H₁N₁ is raising its head, and heated debates are taking place about the prös and con¿s of vaccinating young girls against human papilloma virus. For an evidence-based and responsible communication of infectious disease topics to avoid misunderstandings and overreaction of the public, we need solid scientific knowledge and an understanding of all aspects of infectious diseases and their control.
The aim of our book is to present the reader with the general picture and the main ideas of the subject. The book introduces the reader to methodological aspects of epidemiology that are specific for infectious diseases and provides insight into the epidemiology of some classes of infectious diseases characterized by their main modes of transmission. This choice of topics bridges the gap between scientific research on the clinical, biological, mathematical, social and economic aspects of infectious diseases and their applications in public health.
The book will help the reader to understand the impact of infectious diseases on modern society and the instruments that policy makers have at their disposal to deal with these challenges. It is written for students of the health sciences, both of curative medicine and public health, and for experts that are active in these and related domains, and it may be of interest for the educated layman since the technical level is kept relatively low.

I Challenges.- The Global Burden of Infectious Diseases.- Global Challenges of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.- EmergingEmerging infectious diseases and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases.- Infectious Disease Control Policies and the Role of Governmental and Intergovernmental Organisations.- II General concepts and methods.- Principles of Infectious Disease Epidemiology.- Social Risk Factors.- Molecular Typing and Clustering Analysis as a Tool for Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases.- Epidemiologic Surveillance.- Outbreak Investigations.- Geographic Information Systems.- Methods and Concepts of Epidemiology.- Mathematical Models in Infectious Disease Epidemiology.- Immunity to Infectious Diseases.- Principles and Practice of Vaccinology.- Health Economics of Infectious Diseases.- III Epidemiology of particular infectious diseases.- Airborne Transmission: Influenza and Tuberculosis.- Infectious Childhood Diarrhea in Developing Countries.- Bloodborne and Sexual Transmission: HIV/AIDS.- Blood Borne and Sexual Transmission: Hepatitis B and C.- Sexual Transmission: Chlamydia trachomatis.- Vector-Borne Transmission: Malaria, Dengue, and Yellow Fever.- Nosocomial Transmission: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).- Infectious Diseases and Cancer: HPV.