Hospital Infection: From Miasmas to MRSA
Cambridge University Press, 2003-06-05
EAN 9780521819350, ISBN10: 0521819350
Hardcover, 288 pages, 26 x 17.8 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
This is an absorbing account of the continuing battle to control hospital infections, from the earliest days of hospital care when bad air or miasma was thought to be the cause, to the present day and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’ such as MRSA and necrotizing fasciitis. It succeeds on many levels: as a fascinating social history of hospital care from mediaeval times, when patients endured verminous conditions, to the present day; as a survey of the rise, fall and emergence of new nosocomial infections; and as a chronological account of the emergence of medical microbiology and infection control. The pivotal roles of key personalities such as Joseph Lister, Florence Nightingale, Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch are highlighted, and the history of this subject illuminates not only why hospitals and infections have had such an intimate and long relationship but one that seems destined to continue well into the future.
'This is valuable reading for anyone who wants to know more about the current state of things and how we got here ...'. Health Service Journal '... a fascinating account of how the relation between hospitals and infection has altered through the centuries ...'. Lancet 'Despite a daunting remit, the authors accomplish their task with panache, incorporating history and science in a book that manages to stay fresh and readable where the nature of the subject matter could have rendered it dry ... full of fascinating snippets of information ... the book is a valuable history of an extremely important subject, one that is often neglected in medical schools'. British Medical Journal '... the strength of the material that the authors have amassed make this a much more solid account of our journey to understand hospital-acquired infections and of the continuing battle to minimise their damaging effects on people's lives. This is valuable reading for anyone who wants to know more about the current state of things ...'. Health Service Journal