Smallpox, Syphilis and Salvation: Medical Breakthroughs That Changed the World

352 pages. Near Fine: minor shelf wearSince ancient times the search for cures for the great scourges that have afflic ted humankind has been an ongoing quest, but it is only within the last 200 year s that major breakthroughs have occurred and the development of modern medicine has accelerated. The stories behind these miraculous cures are those of intense rivalries and jealousies, bitter public humiliation, unswerving dedication, subt erfuge, and great personal struggles.Often these medical advances have truly cha nged the world. When Edward Jenner developed the concept of vaccination, and wit h it the cure for smallpox, he found a way to defeat a disease that had affected half a billion people -- more than all those affected by wars and other epidemi cs combined. And while the Black Death still lingers in pockets around the world , it no longer threatens to destroy entire civilisations as it once did.SMALLPOX , SYPHILIS AND SALVATION uncovers the compelling stories of the men and women, i nnovations and accidents that have led to diseases from polio to syphilis, dipht heria to diabetes, tetanus to leukaemia no longer being the death sentences they once were. It also sounds a note of warning -- for some of these diseases are f ighting back. It is estimated that tuberculosis now claims one life every fiftee n seconds, while new 'superbugs' are resistant to penicillin and other antibioti cs. Diseases may once again threaten to crush the world's population, either in the form of biological warfare or simply because they want to survive as much as we do .…