Legal Aspects of Infectious Diseases

Benjamin Tanner

Table of Contents  (Back to book ordering page)

Acknoledgments xi
Preface xiii

Chapter 1: Infectious Disease Litigation 1
1.1 Chapter Preview 1
1.2 Introduction 1
1.3 Claims 4
1.4 The Expert Witness 6
1.5 Chapter Summary 8

Chapter 2: Overview of Microbes and Infection 9
2.1 Chapter Preview 9
2.2 Introduction 10
2.3 A Brief History of Microbiology 11
2.4 Types of Microorganisms 13
     A. Viruses 14
     B. Bacteria 14
     C. Parasites 14
     D. Fungi 15
2.5 Omnipresence of Microbial Life 15
2.6 Pathogenic versus Non-Pathogenic Microorganisms 16
2.7 The Immune System 17
2.8 Sequelae of Infectious Diseases 19
2.9 Routes of Disease Transmission 20
2.10 Economic Impact of Infectious Diseases 22
2.11 Chapter Summary 23

Chapter 3: Biology of Microorganisms: The Fundamentals for Lawyers and Judges 25
3.1 Chapter Preview 25
3.2 Introduction 25
3.3 Helpful Generalizations 26
3.4 Bacteria 27
3.5 Viruses 30
3.6 Parasites 33
3.7 Fungi 34
3.8 Viroids and Prions 35
3.9 Chapter Summary 36

Chapter 4: Virulence and Antibiotic Resistance 37
4.1 Chapter Preview 37
4.2 Introduction 37
4.3 Adhesion and Invasion Factors 38
4.4 Toxins 39
4.5 Gene Transfer and the DNA Plasmid 40
4.6 Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance 41
4.7 Antiviral Drugs 43
4.8 Chapter Summary 44

Chapter 5: The Indicator Concept 45
5.1 Chapter Preview 45
5.2 Introduction 45
5.3 Criteria for Indicator Microorganisms 47
5.4 Examples of Indicator Microorganisms 47
5.5 Problems with Indicator Microorganisms 50
5.6 Chapter Summary 51

Chapter 6: Infectious Disease Investigations 53
6.1 Chapter Preview 53
6.2 Introduction 54
6.3 False-Negative and False-Positive Results 56
6.4 Diagnostic Controls 57
6.5 Good Laboratory Practices 58
6.6 Growth-Dependent Diagnostic Methods 59
6.7 Molecular Diagnostic Methods 62
6.8 Immunological Diagnostic Methods 64
6.9 Epidemiological Investigations 65
6.10 Chapter Summary 67

Chapter 7: Waterborne Microbial Diseases 69
7.1 Chapter Preview 69
7.2 Introduction 69
7.3 Water Contamination 71
7.4 Drinking Water and Disease 72
7.5 Recreational Water and Disease 74
7.6 Wastewater Treatment 76
7.7 Drinking Water Treatment 80
7.8 Commonly Implicated Pathogens 83
7.9 Chapter Summary 87

Chapter 8: Foodborne Microbial Diseases 89
8.1 Chapter Preview 89
8.2 Introduction 89
8.3 Pathogens in the Food Supply 91
8.4 Contamination During Food Processing and Service 92
8.5 The HACCP System for Assuring Food Safety 94
8.6 Substantiation of Foodborne Disease Claims 95
8.7 Commonly Implicated Pathogens 96
8.8 Chapter Summary 103

Chapter 9: Airborne Microbial Diseases 105
9.1 Chapter Preview 105
9.2 Introduction 106
9.3 Bioaerosols 107
9.4 Diseases from Outdoor Air 108
9.5 Diseases from Indoor Air 110
9.6 Commonly Implicated Pathogens 113
9.7 Chapter Summary 117

Chapter 10: Body-fluid and Insect-borne Diseases 119
10.1 Chapter Preview 119
10.2 Introduction 119
10.3 Bloodborne Diseases 122
10.4 Insect-Borne Diseases 123
10.5 Sexually Transmitted Diseases 124
10.6 Commonly Implicated Pathogens 125
10.7 Chapter Summary 117

Chapter 11: Hospital-Acquired Infections 131
11.1 Chapter Preview 131
11.2 Introduction 131
11.3 Types of Hospital-Acquired Infections 136
     A. Urinary Tract Infections 137
     B. Wound Infections 137
     C. Pneumonia 139
     D. Gastrointestinal infections 140
     E. Bloodstream infections 141
11.4 Handwashing, Disinfection, and Sterilization 142
11.5 Commonly Implicated Pathogens 145
11.6 Chapter Summary 149

Chapter 12: Biological Weapons 151
12.1 Chapter Preview 151
12.2 Introduction 151
12.3 Bacteria of Concern 157
12.4 Viruses of Concern 161
12.5 Toxins as Biological Weapons 165
12.6 Chapter Summary 167

Chapter 13: Microbial Risk Assesment 169
13.1 Chapter Preview 169
13.2 Introduction 170
13.3 Risk Perception 171
13.4 Usefulness of Microbial Risk Assessment 172
13.5 The Process of Microbial Risk Assessment 173
     A. Hazard identification 173
     B. Dose-response modeling 173
     C. Exposure assessment 174
     D. Risk characterization 175
13.6 Reliability of Microbial Risk Assessments 175
13.7 Chapter Summary 175
References 177
About the Author 183
Index 185

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