Tales of Disease Eradication The Extreme Edge of Public Health

Through accounts of earlier eradication campaigns as well as speculation on what lies ahead, the authors explore the central question of how the global commu-Global Disease Eradication: nity enters into a commitment to disease eradication. of the previous and current eradication programs have Washington, D.C.: ASM Press (2003) hinged largely on the efforts of one individual who be-196 pp. $39.95 came convinced of the possibility of success and dragged the rest of the world along, sometimes kicking and screaming. This conviction in turn arose from the Do you think things are already complicated enough at discovery of " ideal " control tools—chloroquine and DDT the subcellular level? Are you worn down by the aca-in the case of malaria, easy to administer vaccines for demic competitiveness within your field and departmen-smallpox and polio, a simple water filtration technique tal politics within your institution? Try stirring complexi-for guinea worm. The stories of how these individuals ties such as geographic isolation, poverty, political moved their agendas forward to obtain the buy-in of turmoil, international diplomacy, market forces and cor-world leaders then, of course, diverge in the particulars. porate interests, plus the implications of bioterrorism, Yet the authors have used them to forge an instructive overall lesson on the essentials for success. Thus, we into the mix and you begin to appreciate the complica-are shown how the global malaria eradication campaign tions that might await should your hard won research of the 1950s and 1960s ultimately collapsed as a result results find their way through the lengthy development of the inflexibility of its design, which failed to take social pathway to reach fruition as a vaccine or drug. The new and ecological differences into account or to incorpo-book, " Global Disease Eradication: The Race for the rate a field research component that could have de-Last Child, " does a skillful job of conveying the scientific, tected changes in the biology of the parasite and its logistical, and moral dilemmas that must be faced in mosquito vector. In juxtaposition, the authors' focus order to bring new disease control methods to the devel-on the willingness of the leadership of the smallpox oping world. It does so through a series of chapters eradication campaign to incorporate innovations, such describing unsuccessful (malaria), successful (small-as the surveillance/containment strategy and the bifur-pox), and ongoing (polio and guinea worm) eradication cated needle, into its design as a major reason for its …