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An Epidemiological Odyssey

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Abstract

People always seem to have had a particular fear of infectious diseases. There are many possible reasons for this. The fact that the causative agents are invisible—like ionising radiation—must surely be one, and the very brevity of the incubation period of many fevers could provoke further anxiety, especially if an outbreak appears to be running wildfire within a local community, individuals wondering “who’s next?” There can also be the implied disapproval of some aspect of someone’s lifestyle, such as an assumption of unhygienic living conditions or perhaps sexual indiscretion. This anxiety is not necessarily confined to individuals. Families may wish to conceal the fact that a member has a disease such as tuberculosis, for example, for fear of being kept at a distance by neighbours. Even governments may feel that they have reason to conceal the nature or extent of a particular outbreak and consequently fail to notify the World Health Organisation for inclusion in its Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK

    Dr. George Pollock (Honorary Senior Research Fellow)

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  1. Dr. George Pollock
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Population Scs., College of Med. and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom

    George Pollock

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Pollock, G. (2012). Tailpiece. In: Pollock, G. (eds) An Epidemiological Odyssey. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3998-7_8

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