Animal models of retrovirus infection and their relationship to AIDS

Animal models of retrovirus infection and their relationship to AIDS

92 As with others in this series, the book has been well-produced and with commendable speed. By present standards, it is moderately priced and is ve...

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92

As with others in this series, the book has been well-produced and with commendable speed. By present standards, it is moderately priced and is very good value. It should be present in most libraries, and those working on the problems will want to have their own copies. Others may care to examine a copy in their bookshop, and a fair number will be tempted to buy. PROFESSOR C.R. MADELY Royal Victoria Infirmary Queen Victoria Road Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP Gt. Britain

ANIMAL MODELS OF RETROVIRUS INFECTION AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO AIDS

Animal Models of Retrovirus Infection and their Relationship to AIDS. Lois Ann Salzman (Editor). Academic Press, Orlando, FL 32887, U.S.A., 1986, xix ÷ 470 pp., illustrated, price $39.00, ISBN 0-12-617330-3. In an attempt to understand, control, treat and prevent this human syndrome (AIDS), this book intends to compare AIDS to related retrovirus diseases in selected animals. The chapters are a comprehensive source of up-todate information written by scientists who have made major contributions in their fields. The book is divided into 5 sections: virology of retrovirus model systems, pathogenesis of retrovirus infection, host immunity and retrovirus disease, vaccines and immunotherapy and human AIDS in the chimpanzee. The animal model systems reviewed include the feline, simian, ovine, murine, equine and bovine systems. The authors compare the human and animal retroviruses, the opportunistic diseases related to virus infections and their treatment. The problems associated with the development of a vaccine for AIDS are also discussed, using as a model the only marketed retrovirus vaccine, the one developed to prevent feline leukaemia virus infection in cats. The book begins with a description of the human acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS has recently become a prime focus of study, classified by the Public Health Service as the number one infectious disease target because it is a disease of enormous, increasing proportions. It affects homosexual and bisexual males, female contacts, hemophiliacs, intravenous drug users and pediatric cases usually born of infected parents. The disease is characterized by a defect in cell-mediated immunity. This defect provokes the emergence of diseases including opportunistic infections causing fatal illnesses from pneumonia to cancer and often caused by unusual human pathogens such as protozoa, fungi, mycobacteria and severe virus infections of long duration.

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Animals with their own specific, closely related retrovirus diseases and those infected with the human virus HIV would be of great help in the understanding and treatment of AIDS. They can also tell about the role and treatment of opportunistic infections since that is what the AIDS patients die from. Furthermore, information about vaccines and which viral protein would be the best to use in vaccine studies can be gained from animal studies. In fact, many of the things that represent problems in humans, can, in one form or another, be seen in animal retrovirus infections. The second and one of the main parts of the book deals with the virology of retrovirus model systems. This part is very complete and gives a good update of what is known about the different retroviruses isolated so far in the different domestic or wildlife (simian) species. The other parts of the book (pathogenesis, immunity) begin with an overview on what is known about the situation in human retrovirus infection. This is very interesting since the reader has therefore the basic knowledge which allows him to compare the different animal situations with the human one. The part devoted to vaccine and immunotherapy gives a critical approach to the problem of vaccination against equine infectious anemia, bovine leukemia, feline leukemia and to simian vaccine. The last part of the book is also useful since it describes the transmission of AIDS to chimpanzees and the main features of the infection, the disease and the immune response. It also describes the other trials done to find a suitable animal model for AIDS infection, showing that chimpanzees were the only animal species uniformly susceptible to the infection with AIDS virus. The book ends with a useful index. To summarize, this is a very useful book not only for the researchers directly involved in the field of retrovirus infections but also for all the virologists who will find a comprehensive, complete and easy-to-use source of information on one of the most important fields developed in human and veterinary medicine in recent years. PAUL-PIERRE PASTORET

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine University of Liege Rue des V~tdrinaires, 45 B-1070 Brussels Belgium

BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

Pathogenesis of Bacterial Infections in Animals. Carlton L. Gyles and Charles O. Thoen (Editors). Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA 50010, U.S.A., 1986, x + 227 pp., illustrated, price US$18.95, ISBN 0-8138-1343-3.