Overview

Fighting an Invisible Enemy narrates the founding in 2002 and growth of the internationally renowned centre of excellence for communicable diseases, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa. In a continent riven with a panoply of formidable contagious pathogens, the book describes how the nascent NICD travelled a rocky road to maturity. Starting humbly, as did many of its sister public health institutions around the world, the road was strewn with daunting obstacles of financial restrictions, bureaucratic straitjacketing, international isolation during the apartheid era and, in later years, the calumny of governmental AIDS denial. Following the triumph of the eradication of the once-dreaded smallpox, the NICD now plays a crucial role in the global effort to eradicate poliomyelitis. While the country has the misfortune of the largest HIV/AIDS pandemic in the world, the Institute's HIV research unit has become a world leader. More remote from public notice are the laboratories and support epidemiologists carry out for ongoing surveillance of communicable diseases and the alerts they provide for any signal of an impending outbreak or pandemic. The Institute's value to public health was clearly shown in the recent Covid-19 pandemic. The maxim that we are only safe when everyone everywhere is safe, underlines the importance of international partnerships and the key role the NICD plays, not only for the country but also for global health. This is a flagship organisation in public health in South Africa and this book paints a vivid portrait of its incredible accomplishments.

Full Product Details

Author:   Barry Schoub
Publisher:   Wits University Press
Imprint:   Wits University Press
ISBN:  

9781776148974

ISBN 10:   1776148975
Pages:   166
Publication Date:   01 July 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Acronyms and Abbreviations                                                                     Introduction                                                                           Chapter 1 The Early Seeds                                                             Chapter 2 The National Institute for Virology  Chapter 3 Putting Together the National Institute for Communicable Diseases                   Chapter 4 Surveillance of Communicable Diseases                                   Chapter 5 The Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers of Africa                                    Chapter 6 Facing the HIV /Aids Pandemic                                                                                   Chapter 7 Vaccination and the Eradication of Disease                               Chapter 8 Epidemics, Pandemics and New Communicable Diseases                    Epilogue   Appendices References Index

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Author Information

Barry Schoub is the founding Executive Director of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa. He is Emeritus Professor of Virology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

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