Molecular Epidemiology

Provides a broad overview of the diverse approaches encompassed by the emerging discipline of molecular epidemiology. Concepts and methods at the forefront of infectious disease studies are discussed along with recent advances in studying host genetics, methods for the detection of mutations and polymorphisms, the relationship between pathologies and immune system genetics, and the use of DNA sequence information to garner insights into the evolution of infectious pathogens. The evolution and function of the immune system and a synopsis of general epidemiological design and analysis are included. "This book provides both comprehensive background information and detailed protocols for the practical analysis of the aetiology of disease in the post Human Genome Project era."--International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 31, Number 2, April 2002 "Seventeen specialists (16 Americans and one Italian) contribute eight chapters to this volume exploring the wide range of approaches being used in the field of molecular epidemiology. Coverage includes cutting-edge concepts and methods in the study of infectious diseases, with a synopsis of general epidemiologic design and analysis, and current techniques for molecular typing of microbial pathogens; recent advances in studying host genetics, including methods for the detection of mutations and polymorphisms, identification of linkage among alleles of genes on a given chromosome, and the use of DNA pooling to increase efficiency in association studies of genetically complex traits; the relationship between pathologies and immune system genetics; the use of DNA sequence information to gain insights into the evolution of infectiouspathogens; and the evolution and function of the immune system."--SciTech Book News "Molecular methods have become integral to the study of most fields of biology. This book is an excellent introduction to their application to epidemiology.