While the study of viral evolution has developed rapidly in the last 30 years, little attention has been directed toward linking the mechanisms of viral evolution to the epidemiological outcomes of these processes. This book intends to fill this gap by considering the patterns and processes of viral evolution at all its spatial and temporal scales.

New viral diseases are emerging continuously. Viruses adapt to new environments at astounding rates. Genetic variability of viruses jeopardizes vaccine efficacy. For many viruses mutants resistant to antiviral agents or host immune responses arise readily, for example, with HIV and influenza. These variations are all of utmost importance for human and animal health as they have prevented us from controlling these epidemic pathogens. This book focuses on the mechanisms that viruses use to evolve, survive and cause disease in their hosts. Covering human, animal, plant and bacterial viruses, it provides both the basic foundations for the evolutionary dynamics of viruses and specific examples of emerging diseases. - NEW - methods to establish relationships among viruses and the mechanisms that affect virus evolution - UNIQUE - combines theoretical concepts in evolution with detailed analyses of the evolution of important virus groups - SPECIFIC - Bacterial, plant, animal and human viruses are compared regarding their interation with their hosts

The Tropical Medicine Notebook is a new concept in providing a concise overview of the key topics in tropical medicine, using short notes, diagrams, maps, and tables to present the material in an accessible, engaging, memorable, and interesting way. The format is generally a page per topic, with division of each page into subsections by boxes to make it easy to find the relevant information. Cross-referencing is provided to allow quick linking between relevant sections of the book. Providing the key information in bite-size chunks, the Tropical Medicine Notebook is a useful companion to more comprehensive texts. Divided into eight sections; the first five cover infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths, followed by a further three which present the topics of vector biology, disease syndromes and envenomation. Where relevant, the section is prefaced by a classification system to provide a logical overview, helping with assimilation of information and highlighting important relationships between organisms. It is an ideal learning and revision guide for students or trainees in infection, microbiology, and tropical medicine, as well as being a useful reference resource for healthcare and laboratory staff across the wide range of disciplines to which infection may present.

The field of virus evolution has developed during the past three decades, from one considered by many to be esoteric and unimportant for human and agricultural health, to a major driver of our thinking about infectious diseases of plants and animals. The field has been spurred on during the past 30 years by emerging viral diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hantaviruses, SARS, MERS, and Ebola, along with discoveries of the quasispecies nature and potential for rapid evolution and diversification of RNA virus populations. Over time, the focus of research has expanded and developed to encompass a diverse mixture of approaches, from highly theoretical and mechanistic studies of the basic evolutionary mechanisms to detailed research on the molecular host range, as well as virulence changes responsible for emerging viral diseases. This timely book addresses a wide range of current questions and research approaches at the forefront of the field and highlights recent advances in the understanding of the history and mechanisms of virus evolution. Wherever possible, the book's contributors have integrated information from the study of plant, animal, and bacterial viruses. Every effort has been made to unify findings and to highlight the diversity in patterns and modes of virus evolution between systems in order to aid comparative analysis. The book will be essential reading for everyone working on virus evolution and emerging viral diseases. It is also recommended for anyone working in the area of viral pathogenesis. [Subject: Microbiology, Virology, Life Science]

Based on observational and experimental data, in natural populations of plants and animals studied in the field and in the laboratory, this perspective unravels the hidden and often poorly founded assumptions underlying some of the more troublesome controversies in evolutionary biology today

Virus as Composition, Complexity, Quasispecies, Dynamics, and Biological Implications, Second Edition, explains the fundamental concepts surrounding viruses as complex populations during replication in infected hosts. Fundamental phenomena in virus behavior, such as adaptation to changing environments, capacity to produce disease, and the probability to be transmitted or respond to treatment all depend on virus population numbers. Concepts such as quasispecies dynamics, mutations rates, viral fitness, the effect of bottleneck events, population numbers in virus transmission and disease emergence, and new antiviral strategies are included. The book's main concepts are framed by recent observations on general virus diversity derived from metagenomic studies and current views on the origin and role of viruses in the evolution of the biosphere. - Features current views on key steps in the origin of life and origins of viruses - Includes examples relating ancestral features of viruses with their current adaptive capacity - Explains complex phenomena in an organized and coherent fashion that is easy to comprehend and enjoyable to read - Considers quasispecies as a framework to understand virus adaptability and disease processes

A renaissance of virus research is taking centre stage in biology. Empirical data from the last decade indicate the important roles of viruses, both in the evolution of all life and as symbionts of host organisms. There is increasing evidence that all cellular life is colonized by exogenous and/or endogenous viruses in a non-lytic but persistent lifestyle. Viruses and viral parts form the most numerous genetic matter on this planet.