Plague in Surat


Book Description

Based on a study conducted in Surat in December 1994.




Betrayal of Trust


Book Description

In this "meticulously researched" account (New York Times Book Review), a Pulitzer Prize-winning author examines the dangers of a failing public health system unequipped to handle large-scale global risks like a coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times bestselling author of The Coming Plague, Laurie Garrett takes on perhaps the most crucial global issue of our time in this eye-opening book. She asks: is our collective health in a state of decline? If so, how dire is this crisis and has the public health system itself contributed to it? Using riveting detail and finely-honed storytelling, exploring outbreaks around the world, Garrett exposes the underbelly of the world's globalization to find out if it can still be assumed that government can and will protect the people's health, or if that trust has been irrevocably broken. "A frightening vision of the future and a deeply unsettling one . . . a sober, scary book that not only limns the dangers posed by emerging diseases but also raises serious questions about two centuries' worth of Enlightenment beliefs in science and technology and progress." -- Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times




The Great Manchurian Plague of 1910-1911


Book Description

When plague broke out in Manchuria in 1910 as a result of transmission from marmots to humans, it struck a region struggling with the introduction of Western medicine, as well as with the interactions of three different national powers: Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. In this fascinating case history, William Summers relates how this plague killed as many as 60,000 people in less than a year, and uses the analysis to examine the actions and interactions of the multinational doctors, politicians, and ordinary residents who responded to it.Summers covers the complex political and economic background of early twentieth-century Manchuria and then moves on to the plague itself, addressing the various contested stories of the plague's origins, development, and ecological ties. Ultimately, Summers shows how, because of Manchuria's importance to the world powers of its day, the plague brought together resources, knowledge, and people in ways that enacted in miniature the triumphs and challenges of transnational medical projects such as the World Health Organization.




Encyclopedia of Pestilence, Pandemics, and Plagues [2 volumes]


Book Description

Editor Joseph P. Byrne, together with an advisory board of specialists and over 100 scholars, research scientists, and medical practitioners from 13 countries, has produced a uniquely interdisciplinary treatment of the ways in which diseases pestilence, and plagues have affected human life. From the Athenian flu pandemic to the Black Death to AIDS, this extensive two-volume set offers a sociocultural, historical, and medical look at infectious diseases and their place in human history from Neolithic times to the present. Nearly 300 entries cover individual diseases (such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, Ebola, and SARS); major epidemics (such as the Black Death, 16th-century syphilis, cholera in the nineteenth century, and the Spanish Flu of 1918-19); environmental factors (such as ecology, travel, poverty, wealth, slavery, and war); and historical and cultural effects of disease (such as the relationship of Romanticism to Tuberculosis, the closing of London theaters during plague epidemics, and the effect of venereal disease on social reform). Primary source sidebars, over 70 illustrations, a glossary, and an extensive print and nonprint bibliography round out the work.




Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence


Book Description

Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence, Third Edition is a comprehensive A-to-Z reference offering international coverage of this timely and fascinating subject. This updated volume provides concise descriptions of more than 700.




Betrayal of Trust


Book Description

This is a study of global public health. Plague, pollution and prostitution are all examined in turn. The author shows how basic trust in public health systems has collapsed and how our global public health system has been systematically destroyed.




Biological Weapons


Book Description

The threat of biological weapons has been worrying about the armed forces, as well as political leaders for quite some time. With the global recorded deaths from COVID-19 surpassing one million, the biotechnological revolution has heightened the fear of future weaponized pathogens. The COVID-19 virus or its variant could be the most effective weapon for future biological warfare. The indiscriminate effect of such a weapon and its power to cripple economies and devastate the lives of people may make it attractive to rogue States and non-State actors. This book provides an updated analysis of biological warfare agents, including the COVID-19 virus, biotechnological developments affecting biological agents, and the legal regime responsible for preventing the use of biological weapons.




Waste of a Nation


Book Description

In India, you can still find the kabaadiwala, the rag-and-bone man. He wanders from house to house buying old newspapers, broken utensils, plastic bottles—anything for which he can get a little cash. This custom persists and recreates itself alongside the new economies and ecologies of consumer capitalism. Waste of a Nation offers an anthropological and historical account of India’s complex relationship with garbage. Countries around the world struggle to achieve sustainable futures. Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey argue that in India the removal of waste and efforts to reuse it also lay waste to the lives of human beings. At the bottom of the pyramid, people who work with waste are injured and stigmatized as they deal with sewage, toxic chemicals, and rotting garbage. Terrifying events, such as atmospheric pollution and childhood stunting, that touch even the wealthy and powerful may lead to substantial changes in practices and attitudes toward sanitation. And innovative technology along with more effective local government may bring about limited improvements. But if a clean new India is to emerge as a model for other parts of the world, a “binding morality” that reaches beyond the current environmental crisis will be required. Empathy for marginalized underclasses—Dalits, poor Muslims, landless migrants—who live, almost invisibly, amid waste produced predominantly for the comfort of the better-off will be the critical element in India’s relationship with waste. Solutions will arise at the intersection of the traditional and the cutting edge, policy and practice, science and spirituality.




Instant History


Book Description

A very enjoyable and educative book indeed. -Bibek Debroy Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister An unusual book. -Professor S. Irfan Habib Former Maulana Azad Chair, National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi The book is simply 'unputdownable'. -Rasheed Kidwai Visiting Fellow, ORF Congress leader Arjun Singh was aware of the imminent appointment of Dr Manmohan Singh as the prime minister. What did he do to sway the decision in his favour? Did Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar help the religious leader Chandraswami escape the dragnet of the Enforcement Directorate? What prompted the editor of Hindustan Times to publish an article titled 'National Shame' on the front page of the newspaper? How did a typo in a copy received by All India Radio lead to an inquiry by the Pakistani authorities regarding a 'mole' in their midst? Instant History is a brilliant insight into our recent history. A treasure trove for all those who believe that journalists write the first draft of history, this is an honest perspective on various issues in the context of many geographical complexities, political realities and social dichotomies. Narrated through short pieces and snippets, it unveils several incidents and exposes ground realities that afflict politics, bureaucracy and even journalism. Moreover, serving a slice of history, it documents changes India has witnessed across the last quarter of the preceding century, providing insights into the history of public administration. Anecdotal, humorous and often caustic, Instant History is a fabulous work on Indian journalism and politics recounted by a senior journalist with an insider view of affairs.




Health Care in Bombay Presidency, 1896-1930


Book Description

This book is a study of aspects of public health in Bombay Presidency from 1896 to 1930, and is asked upon extensive primary data. It charts both the changes in the colonial plague policy, from the deadly epidemic of 1896 to the frequent epidemics that appeared in the 1900s, as well as the changes in Indian responses to that policy in different regions of the Presidency. Through a survey of unique local initiatives by activist health officials, civic leaders, and Indian doctors, efforts to bring sanitary consciousness into the public sphere, to promote preventive measures, and to tackle public health challenges like tuberculosis become apparent. The twentieth century witnessed an increasing acceptance of the idea of hospitalization and thus gave rise to the expansion of hospital facilities. This work therefore elucidates these developments through an analysis of both the funding of these expanding institutions and the classification system of admissions, as well as by providing a detailed review of maternity and mission hospitals. With these issues in mind, this work examines a range of perceptions including those of British and Indian physicians regarding the causes of high maternal and infant mortality and their suggestions to tackle it, as well as semi-official and non-official efforts to promote maternal and infant welfare. Specifically, issues such as the health of female mill workers, and the training of nurses, dais, and midwives is addressed. There was a close link between the attempts to improve the health of women and the growing number of female Indian doctors. Some of the career paths of these doctors, including their activities in the All India Women's Conference, the Association of Medical Women in India, and the National Planning Committee, are traced in this work. Through such analyses, the relative place of Western and Indian medicine in the Presidency can also be explored to reveal the manifold and complex dimensions of this encounter. This study will contribute to an understanding of the all India public health scenario of the pre-independence years, and will be of interest to scholars of history, sociology, community health, gender studies, and South Asian studies, as well as to health workers and NGOs.