In Six Modern Plagues, Mark Jerome Walters elucidates the surprising connections between human-induced changes to the natural environment and recent epidemics, including West Nile virus, mad cow disease, HIV/AIDS. Lyme disease, and SARS. According to Walters, we are not only victims of these emerging diseases; we are helping exacerhate their creation and spread. Only if we learn to recognize our role in these outbreaks, or, "eco-demics," can we take measures to diffuse their power. For the new paperback edition, Walters has updated information on the recent bird flu epidemic.

About the Author

Mark Jerome Walters is a professor of journalism and media studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. The author of two previous books and many articles, he was trained as a veterinarian as well as a journalist.

Reviews

"Refreshingly, this latest book explores the underlying shifts in human ecology and behavior that have potentiated recent epidemics....Walters achieves a balance between environmental science, clinical medicine, human interest, and social comment."