Abstract
This volume is a welcome addition to the literature, intended for specialists in foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and not for the casual reader. There is probably also limited interest for researchers working on other RNA viruses, as many of the chapters deal effectively with aspects of virology that are transferable. The format consists of 17 chapters, each addressing a specific feature of the virus or the disease, and each is written by an expert in that area. All features of the virus are covered, from molecular evolution to protein-coat modifications, to receptor binding and immunology, to clinical disease, to control methodologies, to international implications. Some chapters are particularly eloquent and useful. The chapter by Jeremy Salt on persistence of FMD is an excellent overview of this very confusing and controversial subject. The chapter written by the two editors on quasispecies and the importance of this concept to the evolution of FMD is essential reading for anyone who wishes to seriously understand the molecular epidemiology of FMD and how it has tracked around the world. Paul Kitching's chapter on diagnostics is very readable and serves to give the audience a thorough grounding in the current status of FMD diagnosis and the inadequacies for outbreak control. The paper by Mark Woolhouse on mathematical modeling is an excellent primer on the use of models to control disease, and his points concerning the reliance on scientific data to keep infectious disease models from becoming too soft are well received. There are 11 pages of color plates, which are aesthetically pleasing but none of the images are particularly novel and most could probably be demonstrated effectively in shades of gray. Also, the plates include four pages of lesions—these are very nice photographs but the intended audience for this book is already fully familiar with the appearance of FMD lesions. Although overall the book is excellent, this reviewer found it to be slightly eurocentric and there are some omissions. There is very little reference to much of the work completed at Plum Island—specifically, the early groundbreaking work on subunit vaccines and the current, novel rapid-acting vaccine research—are notable by their absence.