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Book Review
The Microbe-Host Interface
in Respiratory Tract Infections
Jan L.L. Kimpen and Octavio Ramilo, editors
Horizon Biosciences, Norfolk, UK, 2005
ISBN 0-8493-3646-5
Pages: 323, Price US $139.05
Suggested
citation for this article
How thoroughly can 1 book address 2 complex aspects of the host-agent-environment
triad, especially for a topic as broad as respiratory tract infections?
Every author of an infectious disease topic assumes this task, at least
implicitly. For example, the clinical aspects of adenovirus infection
are hard to discuss without also highlighting the host factors that lead
to greater susceptibility. The value of a book dedicated to the host-pathogen
interaction depends on the book's ability to focus explicitly and narrowly
on this relationship as the main topic.
Common to all 13 chapters of this first edition is the subject matter
expertise of the authors. In addition to their thorough treatment of each
subject, extensive referencing shows clearly the authors' command of current
and past literature (in some instances, more space is devoted to references
than to text). Beyond these common features, different chapters address
particular facets of the host-agent relationship. Several chapters treat
the host itself as the key subject, for example, the chapter on genetic
background. Others place greater emphasis on the features of the microbes
themselves, such as their pathogenicity and mechanisms for evading the
host immune system. Still other chapters dissect and analyze every aspect
of the complex relationship between host and agent, successfully making
this interaction the central topic. The chapter on the pathogenesis of
bacterial respiratory tract infections is a particularly strong example.
Finally, some chapters look at the host-microbe interface over a period
longer than the time of acute infection. For example, the chapter on atypical
bacteria summarizes the evidence for a causal relationship between infection
with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and the subsequent development of asthma.
If the authors' expertise is the primary strength of the book, the lack
of organization and focus is its principal weakness. Most infectious disease
textbooks adopt a pyramidal structure, beginning with foundational concepts,
such as clinical syndromes, followed by specifics, such as the clinical
presentation and treatment of individual pathogens. No such analogous
structure is apparent in this book. Although the book begins with a discussion
of genetics and the hygiene hypothesis, it quickly digresses into issues
less relevant to the main point of the book, such as new diagnostic tests.
A clear structure would also help ensure that all major topics are included.
For example, many respiratory tract infections have a bimodal age distribution
with the greatest incidence in the very young and the very old. However,
this book largely omits any discussion of host-microbe interactions among
the elderly. Similarly absent is a description of how pandemic influenza
viruses emerge and evade the host immune system. Simply put, structure
would unify what could otherwise be considered a series of well-done monographs.
Most readers who want to understand the host-agent interplay in respiratory
infections might find that a general infectious disease text meets their
needs. However, others who need more depth in selected topics should search
the table of contents before adding this book to their library.
Matthew R. Moore*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Suggested citation
for this article:
Moore MR. The microbe-host
interface in respiratory tract infection [book review]. Emerg Infect Dis
[serial on the Internet]. 2005 Oct [date cited]. Available from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol11no10/05-0831.htm
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