Vector bionomics in the epidemiology and control of malaria. Part II. The WHO European region and the WHO eastern Mediterranean region. Vol. 2 (2 parts)

413 The first edition of this atlas was published in 1977; it contained 763 Figures, appeared in a small page format, and cost &18. This edition has a larger format (19x26 cm) and contains 852 Figures (an increase of 11.7%). while its mice has increased bv onlv 8.3%. This must be almost a record and the publishers deserve praise for their achievement. The authors, too, deserve our thanks and praise for maintaining the excellent standard of the illustrations of this admirable book, and for increasing its coverage. The increase covers largely - _ those parasitoses which have become regrettably prominent-as a result of the spread of AIDS; for examnle, the section on Pneunwcvstis has expandedfrom 2 to 4illustrations (including onenew electronmicrographand an X-ray); microsporidiosis (not representedin edition 1) now has2 illustrations (1 light and 1 electron micrograph)of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (mis-spelt ‘btiusei’), as does cryptosporidiosis (also not included in the first edition). The generalstyle of the book is unchanged:each sectionhasa short introduction, followedby excellent colouredillustrations, with full descriptivecaptions, of all the relevant organisms,and (often) distribution maps. The book endswith 17 classificatoryTables and a list of eight ‘key references’for further reading. The section and chapter headingsare largely unchanged:helminthiases have beendivided into nematodes and cestodes, cytomegalovirus has been accorded its own title instead of being concealed within ‘iatrogenic parasitoses’ (it wasthconly member of this chanter in edition 1). The fact that this book hasachieveda third edition testifiesto its value; as already mentioned, its standard has been maintained (and for this, of course, credit is due to the suppliersof photographsaswell asto the authorsand printers), its coverage increased and thoroughly revised, and its price (in real terms) decreased.I recommendit to all studentsand practitionersdealing with tropical medicine. J. R. Baker for Vectbr Control, third edition. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1990.303 pp. Price SW fr. 51. ISBN 92-4-154403-l. This third edition, with 5 parts and 7 annexes,is essentiallya handbookon pesticideapplicationequipment with advice on ground and aerial equipment suitablefor usein vector control. It is clearly written and adequately illustrated. Principal methods of applying pesticidesin integratedcontrol are described and factors for effective annlication hiehliehted. Accurate application without-endangeringion&rget organismsor the environment is emphasized. Basic componentsof nozzles, pressurecontrol, pumpsand compressors are outlmed in Part II. The equipmentusedin ground and aerialvector control is illustrated, from hydraulic nozzlesto pulsejetfoggers and rotary nozzleson aircraft, and their operationis describedin easily understood terms. Detailed and comprehensivespecificationsfor the majortypes of manualandmotorized equipmentused in vector control provide the main sectionof the book. Specific test proceduresand methods are included. This makes the publication an essentialreference work for manufacturersand design engineerswho wish to provide acceptableequipmentfor field usein Equipment

vector control. Very detailed test methods are required for equipmentto meetthesespecificationsand the procedures, particularly for motorized equipment, are expensiveto implementand require skilled interpretation. The revisedspecificationswill ensure that any equipmentmeetingthesehigh standardswill be durableand robust enoughfor intensivefield use. This manual defines fogs, aerosols,mists and sprayswhich are requiredfor different vector control programmesand providesadvice on samplingsprays to determine droplet size, as well as guidelinesfor conductingfield trials. Hand-carriedrotary atomizers with applicatorsarementionedbriefly in the text but as yet there is no specificationfor this equi ment, although it has a role in larviciding anB other applicationsin relation to community pest control schemes. Hopefully, manufacturerswill usethe considerable array of experienceand skills that have goneinto the preparation of this reference work and all those responsiblefor the purchaseof equipmentwill insist on quality controls so that userswill benefit from safer, more efficient and more durable equipment than hasbeenavailablein the past. This new edition will be of practical useand interest to thoseinvolved in vector control. E. W. Thomhii Vector Bionomics in the Epidemiology and Control of Malaria. Part II. The WHO European Region and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Vol.

2 (2 parts). A. R. Zahar. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1990. 90 & 226 pp. Price not stated. Thesedocumentsform part of a seriesof restricted distribution publications produced by the World Health Organization. Volume 1 of this seriesdealt with vector laboratory studies,whereasthis volume (in two parts) deals with applied field studies. The first of thesetwo documentscoversin 90 pages and two sectionsan overview of the recent malaria situation and vector distribution. Section 1 sequentially coversthe Europeanregion, the Mediterranean region, and Asia west of India. Section 2 dealswith the dtstribution of major and secondary, suspected vectors, with short descriptions speciesby species accompanied by distribution maps of the more important vector species. The seconddocument, in 226 pages,comprises section3 and dealswith vector bionomicsandmalaria epidemiology and control by geographicalregions, and concentratessolely on the Mediterraneanbasin. Under the first subsection,vector bionomics, the main vector speciesof the Anopheles muculipennis complex, An. supetpictus, An. sergentiiand An. pharoensis, are discussedunder 12 headingsranging from vector importance to resistanceto insecticides. Five speciesof secondaryand suspectedvectors are also reviewed. The second subsection describes epidemiologicalstudiesand control operations,chloroquine resistancein Plasmodium falciparum, malaria control in water resourcesand developmentprojects, alternative control and community participation. The format of providing so much, sometimes wordy and sometimesdisjointed, material in 316 closely-spacedpagesis hardly an incentive to easy reading. Someof the commentsI havereceivedabout

414 this material range from ‘almost incomprehensible’ to ‘a formidable piece of work’. For readers outside the field and specialists alike the work would undoubtedly benefit from a comprehensive cross-referenced index. However, this material is obviously not intended as material for the casual reader and if the time is available much information is there to be gleaned. These comments aside there can be little doubt that the compiler has done a painstaking job amassing such a large amount of diverse information in these two valuable reference documents. C. J. Leake

Chemotherapy, 2nd edition. David Greenwood. Oxford: Oxford Medical Publications. 1989.xi+372 pp. Price&20.ISBN O-19-26-261817-2: Chapter 10 of the book states“This book.. . is not intendedasa treatiseon clinical laboratory microbiology”. It fulfils this aim clearly and admirably, and as such it fills a gap in the literature of modern antimicrobialchemotherapy.This gap hasdeveloped asa resultof the increasingpacein the developmentof antimicrobial agents,quinolones,penemsand alike, without disseminationof what agentsdo, and how a microbiologist should deal with susceptibility and assaysof individual agents. The book is divided into 5 sections.Firstly, general propertiesof antimicrobial agents, covering broadly the agentsinvolved, their problems and modesof action. This sectionis very clear, and not complicated by considerationof eachindividual agent.This is then followed by a brief summaryof laboratory methodsof chemotherapy, which is concise and clear for the non-microbiologistor student. The third part is quite rightly devotedto microbial resistance,a subject often poorly covered but here discussedwith reasonableclarity, although the control of the spreadof resistancecould be expandedto cover morepractical aspects-a frequent request to clinical microbiologists-for instancemethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. The remainderof the book is devoted to general principlesand therapeuticusages.These areTar the most part well coveredand thesection on pharmacokinetics is very good. The topic of infection in the immunosuppr&d is not tackled, however, but for the most part the sectionsprovide a very adequate grasp of basic antimicrobial chemotherapy. In summary, this book is attractively priced, and goodvaluefor clinicians,studentsandmicrobiologists rn training, providing a good installation and introductorv text. Mv onlv criticism of the text isits lack of directed further reading for thoseseekingadvanced information.

Antimicrobial

A. E. Lockett Society, Environment and Health in Low-Income Counttres. E. Nordberg & D. Finer (editors).

Stockholm: KarolinskaInstitutet, 1990.186pp. Price not stated. ISBN 91-85910-54-6. This book is mainly about water supply, sanitation and hygiene education, although there are also 2 interestine: chapters on stress and mental health problems-in &rd world societies.The focus is on Africa, particularly East Africa, where most of the authors have worked. Ten of the 15 chaptersare by

Swedes,and 4 of the remainderare by Tanzaniansor Kenyans. However, the book seeksto have a wider geographicalscope;examplesand referencesarecited from other countries, mainly from the Englishspeakingworld. Each chapter gives a reasonablycompetent overview of the main issuesin its subject area, and the authorshave beenbold enoughto highlight the main controversies. A critique by a Tanzanian of his country’s ujamaa village policy is particularly noteworthy. Severalchaptersdwell on the useof quantity, as well asimproved quality, of water asdeterminantsof healthbenefits.They rather overstressthe dangersof contamination of domestic storage vessels.A refreshinginclusionis a chapter by a historian, analysing the remarkably good demographicdata which have been collected in Sweden since 1750. He is probably right to suggestthat the flattening of the summerpeaksof mortality correspondsto a fall in the incidence (or fatality rate) of bacterial diarrhoeal diseases, and the ideaof comparingthis with contemporary changesin water supply is onewhich deserves to be further pursued. The book has been produced cheaply from the authors’typescripts.This hasleft a numberof errors and untraceablereferences,but if it meansthe book is to be distributed free or at low cost,?that seemsa reasonableprice to pay. It is lessacceptable,thesedays, to find that the chapter on the involvement of women has been written by two men! Sandy Cairncross

Gulf. M. Gallagher, 1990. 16pp. Available from the author, P.O. Box 668, Muscat, Sultanateof Oman. Price Biyals Omani 2 (post free). This welcomebooklet is attractively produced in colour with goodquality photographsof 28 speciesof snakesand amphisbaenids.The author is known for his earlier book The AmPhibians and Reptiles of Bahrain (1971)and for his contributionsto The Oman Flora and Fauna Sutz~evI977 (Dhofar). His newbook hasbeenpublishedjust in time to adviseand reassure the enormousnumbersof troopsnow deployedin the snake-infesteddesert areas of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. After some introductory commentsabout snake biology, fangs and venoms, the author describesthe important speciesof terrestrial venomous snakes,the sea snakesand representativesof the familiesColubridae, Leptotyphlopidae, Bhamphotyphlopidae, Boidae and the amphisbaenids(‘worm lizards’). The noteson individual sneciesarebrief but accurateand useful. Transcribed-Arabic namesare given but it would have beenusefulto havehad them in Arabic script aswell. The adviceabout prevention and first aid treatment of snakebite is reasonable. However, oressureimmobilization of the bitten limb usinga s&t and crepebandageshouldprobably be reservedfor bites by neurotoxic elapids(suchas the Egyptian cobra Naja haje arabica in this region) and seasnakesand, in my opinion, should not be used after bitesby specieswhich causesevereswellingand necrosis(such as the puff adder Bitis arietans and saw-scaledor carpet vipers Echis species),for fear of Snakes of the Arabian