Infectious Diseases: A Modern Treatise of Infectious Processes

Abstract

In the decade since Hoeprich assembled the expertise of almost 100 collaborators to produce the first major textbook of infectious diseases, much has happened: new antimicrobial agents with ever-widening spectra of activity; newly recognized diseases such as toxic shock syndrome, legionellosis, and campylobacteriosis; use of a novel vaccine to prevent hepatitis B; and revolutionary imaging techniques for diagnosis of abscesses. Little wonder that a second, and now a third, edition of Hoeprich's book have been welcomed! In contrast with the reception usually accorded Hollywood film sequels, to which movie critics usually turn thumbs down, successive editions of medical textbooks offer readers an improved learning resource. Although Hoeprich's first edition was an earnest attempt to synthesize a great body of information for young physicians, the book failed to probe deeply enough to justify its purchase. The problem was remedied with a much-improved second edition five years later. Hoeprich's third edition should