Public health is a term much used in the media, by health professionals, and by activists. At the national or the local level there are ministries or department

This Very Short Introduction outlines the nature of public health in our world today and places public health in its historical context from the earliest times,

What is epidemiology? What are the causes of a new disease? How can pandemics be prevented? Epidemiology is the study of the changing patterns of disease and it

As doctors and biologists have learned, to their dismay, infectious disease is a moving target: new diseases emerge every year, old diseases evolve into new for

Throughout history plague has been the cause of many major catastrophes. It was responsible for the Black Death of 1348 and the Great Plague of London in 1665,