Petar M Mitrasinovic 
Global View of the Fight Against Influenza [PDF ebook] 

Influenza has become an important infectious disease with regard to its enormous clinical and economic impact on population health. Due to the recent pandemic threat by the worldwide spread of H5N1 avian influenza, the World Health Organization has shown its profound concerns regarding the possibility of having the virus spread among humans. These concerns have raised the question of vital importance: in the absence of a specific avian flu vaccine, could antiviral drugs obstruct a pandemic should the virus spread from birds to humans? Since there is a lot of mis-information out there that needs correcting, this book discovers a global view of the fight against influenza.The comprehensive account of the up-to-date research achievements is written by 50 eminent scientists from around the world (14 different countries – U.S.A., China, Russia, Japan, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Serbia, Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, South Africa). The contents cover major critical issues such as: (1) the molecular evolution of influenza viruses, (2) the origin and control of pandemic influenza, (3) the pathology and pathogenesis of avian influenza H5N1 infection in humans, (4) the high resistance of H5N1 influenza A virus to the currently approved anti-viral drugs, (5) the structure-based design of novel, more potent, H5N1 influenza A virus neuraminidase inhibitors, (6) the current progress and pitfalls in the development of adequate vaccines, (7) the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) resources for the global research community to support development of novel influenza therapeutics, (8) the improved strategies of eradicating endemic public health problems through effective, cause-oriented natural therapies, and (9) the prevention policies against influenza pandemic with their applications. This book also indicates the future directions in which the war versus influenza is to be developed, thus ensuring its scientific priority. This material can be enriched in a number of ways, primarily by including additional the "Expert Commentary" chapters. In such a fashion the interdisciplinary character of this book would be even more pronounced.This book is intended to serve as a valuable professional reference for health care professionals, health science administrators, scientific industry leaders, lab directors, and researchers of various backgrounds, including medicine, pharmacy, chemistry, structural biology, biotechnology, and molecular modeling. Since the separate chapters are largely self-contained, the edited collection is also expected to be used for graduate teaching and, in principle, requires no prerequisite other than a solid background defined by the interface between life and medical sciences.