Epidemic! The World of Infectious Disease - Exhibit

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Abstract:: This Web site, created to complement the museum's Epidemic! exhibit, provides an in-depth look at the world of infectious disease. It includes the following sections: Environmental Change looks at how a season of heavy snow and rainfall led to an outbreak of hantavirus in the Four Corners region of the southwestern U.S., and at the different habitat needs of microbes. Long-Term Changes examines how changes to the prehistoric landscape and in our living patterns since the development of agriculture, have made diseases like malaria a major threat in tropical regions. Microbes and Others looks at the three major groups of microbes (viruses, bacteria, and protozoa) and the great variety within each group. Diagnostics and Testing examines how the link between microbes and disease was first made and the many medical advances since then. Infection covers how microbes enter the body and the body's built-in defense mechanisms. Outbreak looks at the different routes microbes use to spread through a population and the work of epidemiologists. Epidemic/Pandemic explores the factors that determine whether an outbreak will become an epidemic or a pandemic. Resources is a list, organized by topic and specific disease, of more than 250 Web sites. Glossary includes nearly 200 infectious disease terms, from AIDS to WHO.

Conditions of Use:: Custom Permissions
All text, images, and software code on this website are copyright property of the American Museum of Natural History and its programmers unless otherwise noted. They may be used for the personal education of website visitors. They may not be placed in the public domain. Any commercial reproduction, redistribution, publication, or other use by electronic means or otherwise is prohibited unless pursuant to a written license signed by the Museum.

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