Contents

Introduction             

Words to Remember                 

Sanitation Transformation
    Florence Nightingale; Introduction of Sanitation
Louis Pasteur’s Game Changer
      Pasteurization; Foundation of the Germ Theory
Nothing Small About It            
     Smallpox and the Beginning of Vaccination

Chemical Warfare
     The History of Antibiotic Discovery

The Sad Saga of Mary Mallon
     Typhoid’s Role in the Science of Epidemiology

What’s Bugging Us
     General Description of Pathogenic Organisms

Little Sacs of Poison
     Polymorphonuclear Neutrophils 

First Responder        
     The Complement System
Safety Net                                   
     Macrophages and Dendritic Cells

Our Own Worst Enemy            
     Diseases Associated with Macrophages

The Attack of the Killer Lymphocytes    
     Description of Lymphocyte Activity

The Auxiliary                             
      Acute Phase Proteins and Fever

The Big E                  
     Escherichia coli, Shigella
GI Incursion             
     Salmonella and Typhoid Fever 
A Most Difficult Infectious Disease        
     Clostridium difficile    

Milk Bugs                 
     Brucella and Listeria

Toxic Assault            
     Tetanus, Botulism, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Cholera
“The Scourge of Armies”        
     Typhus               
Sucker Punch           
     Giardiasis  

Freeloaders               
     Parasitic Diseases
The Kiss of Death   
     Trypanosomiasis

“Bad Air”                  
     Malaria
Out of Africa
     Ebola and Mosquito-borne Viruses
Reverse Assault                         
     HIV

The World’s Greatest Unintended Consequence     
     Polio

Mind Control            
     Rabies and Toxoplasmosis

Kid’s Stuff                
     Measles

The Black Death      
     Bubonic Plague

Biological Weaponry
     Anthrax
Under The Influence                 
     Influenza

Lifelong Companion                 
     Herpes Viruses

Pathogenic Shapeshifter           
     Coccidioidomycosis

Budding Trouble      
     Yeast Infections
Split Personality      
     Neisseria meningitidis

Crown of Thorns
     Coronavirus
Pyogens   
     Streptococcus and Staphylococcus
Imperiled Infants     
     Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Rubella, Cronobacter
Peptic Predator         
     Helicobacter pylori
Consumption            
     Tuberculosis and Leprosy
Infection By Deception            
     Lyme Disease, Syphilis, Leptospirosis

Beating ‘em To The Punch      
     Vaccines
Hitting Them Where They Live
     Antibiotics
Gut Check                 
     Gut Microbiome
Afterword                 
References and further reading