"Although medicine and sanitation in modernized countries are more advanced than ever, over the past three decades we have seen the emergence of some 30 new diseases, such as HIV, SARS, and Ebola. Lyme Disease, hepatitis C, Legionnaires' Disease, and even Jacob-Creutzfeld, the human form of a disorder we know as "Mad Cow," have made headlines. We are also facing a resurgence of diseases once thought nearly eradicated, including tuberculosis and smallpox, and the persistence of rare disorders such as leprosy. In this work, Dr. Link explains the extent of new, resurgent, and resistant diseases defying the abilities of science and medicine or finding strength in globalization or other facets of modernization."--Jacket.