Fighting an Invisible Enemy

109 pages. Temps de lecture estimé 1h22min.
A history of the establishment and role of the public health organisation, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa.Fighting an Invisible Enemy narrates the development of the internationally renowned National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa from its foundations in the early twentieth century as the South African Institute for Medical Research and, later, the National Institute for Virology. It started humbly and faced daunting obstacles: financial restrictions, international isolation during the apartheid era and political interference both during and after apartheid. The institute plays a crucial role in the ongoing global effort to eradicate polio, and its HIV research unit has become a world leader. Its multidisciplinary laboratories and epidemiologists support the constant surveillance of communicable diseases and provide alerts for any signal of an impending outbreak or pandemic. The NICD is a flagship public health organisation in South Africa, and this book, enhanced by images of its projects and facilities, paints a vivid portrait of its accomplishments. It will be of interest to public health specialists and activists, as well as a more general audience.List of Illustrations Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Acronyms and Abbreviations Introduction Chapter 1 The Early Seeds Chapter 2 The National Institute for Virology Chapter 3 Putting Together the National Institute for Communicable Diseases Chapter 4 Surveillance of Communicable Diseases Chapter 5 The Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers of Africa Chapter 6 Facing the HIV /Aids Pandemic Chapter 7 Vaccination and the Eradication of Disease Chapter 8 Epidemics, Pandemics and New Communicable Diseases Epilogue Appendices References Index