The Patient As Victim and Vector: Ethics and Infectious Disease

This volume is jointly written by four authors at the University of Utah with expertise in bioethics, health law, and infectious disease. In collaboration they attempt to develop a normative framework sensitive to situations of disease transmission- situations in which the patient is not only a victim but a vector; i.e. vulnerable to disease but also a threat to others. This reissue includes a new preface exploring the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Margaret P. Battin, MFA, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine in the Program in Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah. The author of prize-winning short stories, she has authored, edited, or co-edited some twenty academic books, including The Least Worst Death. She has been named one of the "Mothers of Bioethics."

Leslie P. Francis, PhD, JD, is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Distinguished Alfred C. Emery Professor of Law at the University of Utah. She writes on privacy, reproductive ethics, data use in public health, disability law, and federalism, and provides pro bono legal representation to people who are subjected to guardianship proceedings. Her books include Privacy: What Everyone Needs to Know.

Jay A. Jacobson, MD, is Emeritus Professor, Division of Infectious Disease and founder of the Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians and Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is a recipient of the American Medical Association Award for Leadership in Medical Ethics and Professionalism.

Charles B. Smith, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine and previous Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases. He has been Associate Dean at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Chief Medical Officer at the Seattle Veterans Administration Hospital. He has served as President of the Veterans Administration Association of Chiefs of Staff and is co-editor of Ethics and Infectious Disease.