By Kirsty OUP-UK
The UK news reports have recently been dominated by stories of two infectious diseases that have been attacking farm animals: Foot and Mouth Disease, and the bluetongue virus. OUP author Dorothy Crawford is Professor of Medical Microbiology and Assistant Principal for the Public Understanding of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and is the author of many publications on viruses. Her new book, Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History, looks at how human history is inextricably linked with the history of microbes and the spread of infection and disease. Here she turns her attentions to our animal friends, and looks at how to deal with the spread of disease in British livestock.
As the wettest summer on record comes to a close Britain is in the throws of not just one but two infectious disease outbreaks. (more…)