Springer Parasite and Disease Spread by Major Rivers on Earth: Past and Future Perspectives: 12 (Parasitology Research Monographs, 12)

This book focuses on waterborne pathogens and significant diseases occurring along major rivers around the globe, including key examples like the Amazonas, Mekong River and Nile. Written by leading international experts, it offers unique insights into local riverine infection risks in times of global warming, and addressing these through advances in diagnosis, health management and the development of simple but effective control measures. It also sheds light on why former societies collapsed due to transmitted diseases during periods of climate change, droughts and floods, to help establish effective preventive measures for the future. The book appeals to a wide readership, from scientists in the field of parasitology, infectious diseases and epidemiology, to healthcare managers and general readers with an interest in pathogen spread along the largest rivers on earth. It particularly highlights past and current control mechanisms in times of global warming and assesses potential future health hazards. From the Back Cover Rivers are the “blood vessels” of all living organisms on earth – they live in the water, drink the water or use it to spread into new regions in order to avoid overcrowding in specific locations. Since the early beginnings of human life on earth, riverbanks have been used as settlement sites, to provide food and for transport. However, since the oldest human cultures many agents of diseases have also spread along these rivers. Written by leading international parasitologists and physicians, this book discusses the involvement of rivers in the spread of diseases, but also their contributions to the development and destruction of human cultures. Examining past and current data, it shows how important and vulnerable river regions are and how they are increasingly endangered by pollution.