Diseases & Epidemics

Definitions       

What is the difference between an illness and a disease?

What is the difference between an epidemic, a pandemic, an endemic and an outbreak?       

Communicable vs. Non-Communicable Diseases 

Books 

• Why We Get Sick by Benjamin T. Bikman   
  (available in print and eBook formats)   
• Pandemic:  Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond by Sonia Shah      
  (available in print, eBook and eAudio formats)    
• Get Well Soon :  History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by
  Jennifer Ashley Wright   (available in print)    
• The End of Epidemics:  The Looking Threat to Humanity and How to Stop It by
  Jonathan D. Quick    (available in print)    
• The Pandemic Century:  One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria and Hubris by
  Mark Honigsbaum   (available in print)    
• COVID-19:  The Pandemic That Never Should Have Happened and How to Stop
  the Next One by Debora MacKenzie  (available in print)   
• The Coronavirus Prevention Handbook :  1001 Science-Based Tips that Could
  Save Your Life  by Wang Zhou   (available in print and eBook formats)    
• Outbreaks and Epidemics :  Battling Infection from Measles to Coronavirus by
  Meera Senthilingam    (available in print)   
• The Plague Cycle by Charles Kenny (available in print, audio, eBook and eAudio formats)            

 

Articles        

• COVID-19 Pandemic:  A New Chapter in the History of Infectious Diseases
  Abdullah A. Balkhair, Oman Med.J., v35(2); Mar. 2020    
• Emerging Infectious Diseases, Abstracts and articles    

 

 

Useful Websites  

• 20 of the worse epidemics and pandemics in history   
• 22 million babies missed measles vaccines during the pandemic. That’s a big problem, CDC warns (USA Today | November 11, 2021)  
• Analysis: Country by country, scientists eye beginning of an end to the COVID-19 pandemic   (Reuters | November 3, 2021)  
• The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Racial and Ethnic Minorities in the United States (NIH)  
• Do you need to wear a mask indoors where you live? Check this map.  (NPR | November 15, 2021)   
• Endemics, Epidemics and Pandemics    
• Epidemics Now    
• The FDA authorizes COVID booster shots for all U.S. adults (NPR | November 19, 2021)      
• Interim: Implications of the Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant VOC 202012/01   
• Intermountain Healthcare:  a blog          
• Moderna says Covid vaccine has fewer breakthrough cases than Pfizer’s, but higher myocarditis rates in young men  (CNBC |November 11, 2021)   
• Omicron is now the dominant COVID strain in the U.S., making up 73% of new infections (NPR | 12/20/2021)
• Omicron Symptoms: What We Know About the Severity of the New Variant    
• Omicron Variant: What You Need to Know (CDC | 12/20/21)   
• The Omicron variant is now dominant in the US (CNN | 12/20/21)     
• Outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics-what you need to know.    
• Pfizer agrees to let others make its experimental COVID-19 pill (CBS | November 16, 2021)   
• Webmd.com : Even Mild COVID Can Leave “Long-Haul Illness 
• The therapy can be life-saving, especially in the early stages of an infection, and it’s becoming easier to access across the US.     
• What we know — and don’t know — about the omicron variant (NBC | Dec. 15, 2021, 9:48 AM CST / Updated Dec. 20, 2021, 11:16 AM CST)
• Why deforestation and extinctions make pandemics more likely    
• The Worst Outbreaks in U.S. History    

Organizations     

• Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology  The largest association for professionals in infection prevention and control designed to reduce the risk of infection.    
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  CDC is the nation’s health protection agency that work 24/7 to protect America from health and safety threats wherever they are.    
• Health and Human Services  (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)  They encourage and support scientific advances in medicine, public health and social services for the betterment of Americans.
• MedlinePlus  MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for people.
• National Association of County and City Health Officials  They seek to improve human health using science, respect, innovation among other core values.
• National Institutes of Health  This is the national medical research agency with the objective of ensuring good health.
• Pan American Health Organization  They specialize in international health for the Americas to improve, promote and protect health.
• WebMD   They provide the best health information and support possible that is up-to-date and credible.
• Will County Health Department & Community Health Center   Their objective is to prevent disease and promote a healthier environment for everyone.
• World Health Organization   WHO works worldwide to promote health, keep the world safe, serve the vulnerable and protect people from emergencies so we can all reach toward health and well-being.