Evolution of Infectious Diseases by Paul Ewald free essay sample

Reviews work on need for shift from Darwinian medicine to evolutionary epidemiology in fight against pathogens from cholera to AIDS. Paul Ewalds Evolution of Infectious Disease begins with a re-examination of traditional medical approaches to treating and eradicating disease through the ages, comparing and contrasting the time-honored concept of obligate evolution toward commensalism, that is that parasite species or pathogens, over time, will evolve toward a benign state of co-existence with their host. In rejecting this hypothesis, Ewald seeks to show that contrary to this belief, organisms, in fact, tend toward higher rates of virulence within human hosts in order to replicate more quickly, thus insuring better transmission from host to host in spite of the host mortality rate. To prove his hypothesis, Ewald shows how the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-bacterial drugs can eventually be overcome or evolutionarily bypassed by pathogens such as malaria