Epidemics

'Amid the epidemic of books on epidemics in recent years, analyses that step back and critically assess how such events are socially constructed have been scarce on the ground. This book provides readers with an intellectually fresh take on contemporary global health policy.'-Kelley Lee, Head, Public and Environmental Health Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

'Through a series of case studies, this book explores responses mounted against selected diseases in different parts of the world, and, most importantly, the "actors and mindsets" underlying the chosen responses ... a valuable addition to the library of all those concerned with the effects and effectiveness of measures to protect global health.'-Joachim Otte, Coordinator Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Initiative, Food and Agriculture Organization, UN

'[A] comprehensive book on a wide range of, mainly infectious disease, epidemic situations around the world ... a sobering read for anyone who has to take action in the face of the threat from an epidemic.'-Dr Jimmy Whitworth, Head of International Activities, The Wellcome Trust

'Offering a theoretically sophisticated and practically useful set of reflections about the epidemics of our times, and the epidemic of social signification that these are set in, this book will be of interest to a very broad readership spanning students of science and technology, sociologists of medicine and anthropologists, and, one hopes, epidemiologists and policy makers, as well as the wider public interested in the relationships between science, politics and social justice.'-Wenzel Geissler, Senior Lecturer in Social Anthropology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Professor, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo

Recent disease events such as SARS, H1N1 and avian influenza, and haemorrhagic fevers have focused policy and public concern as never before on epidemics and so-called 'emerging infectious diseases'. Understanding and responding to these often unpredictable events have become major challenges. This book takes a unique approach by focusing on how different policy makers, scientists and local populations construct alternative narratives u accounts of the causes and appropriate responses to outbreaks u about epidemics at the global, national and local level. Case studies on avian influenza, SARS, obesity, H1N1 influenza, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and haemorrhagic fevers cover a broad historical, geographical and biological range.

Sarah Dry is a Research Officer at the STEPS Centre. She received her PhD in history of science from the University of Cambridge in 2006. Melissa Leach is the main Director of the STEPS Centre, Sussex and a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex.

Sarah Dry is a Research Officer at the STEPS Centre. She received her PhD in history of science from the University of Cambridge in 2006. Her research interests include the history of Victorian meteorology and 20th century radiation, and contemporary health policy.Melissa Leach is the main Director of the STEPS Centre, Sussex and a Professorial Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex.