Viruses on the Loose (Innbundet)

A travelogue on viruses and humans

Author:

Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik

Norwegian title: Virus på reisefot
Norwegian subtitle: En reiseskildring om virus og mennesker
Author:
Binding: Innbundet
Year: 2021
Pages: 352
Illustrator: Gaarder, Max
Publisher: Cappelen Damm
Språk: Bokmål
ISBN/EAN: 9788202700997
Kategori: Narrative Non-fiction og Self Help
Overview Virus på reisefot

What is a virus? Even experienced microbiologists need to stop and think before answering this simple question. Viruses are tiny. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has a width of no more than one hundred nanometers. Ten thousand such viruses lined up after each other will barely have the width of a pinhead. But an invisible enemy like this can bring a whole world to its knees, just as it did in spring 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic. Through carefully selected stories, the author shows you what a virus is, what it consists of, how it is transmitted and how it produces disease.

Viruses and humans have coexisted forever, so this journey covers biological evolution, our own bodies, historical events, diagnostics, global politics, genetic material, ethics and biological warfare. The book is also about vaccines, one of our most important weapons in the war against viruses. The making of vaccines is in itself a science which is based upon our knowledge of how viruses are constructed and cause disease.

Viruses are bred to spread and don’t hesitate to set off on intercontinental journeys, like the travel-loving stowaways they are. In this book, you’ll get to know different kinds of viruses: some of the most common, some that are extremely cunning and some that are so dangerous their fatality rate is close to 100%. Viruses cause contagion by travelling, just as we do, but their journey doesn’t stop there. The way in which they produce disease inside us can also be viewed as a microscopic travelogue. We shall therefore follow some viruses as they travel through our bodies to reach the cells they both hijack and harm.

If you are prepared to face what fear of viruses you might have, you’ll discover that knowledge of viruses is extremely helpful. In certain situations, it may help you survive and avoid diseases like warts, cold sores, shingles, blindness and even cancer.

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Reviews Virus på reisefot

Forfriskende og nyttig om virus 07.12.2022

"Han tar oss med på en spennende virusreise, historisk og geografisk, og setter på denne måten temaet inn i en større sammenheng.

Språket er lettfattelig, med norske forklaringer på medisinske ord og uttrykk.

Boken er underholdende og lettlest, både for lek og lærd. Det er ingen lærebok, men et godt supplement for medisinstudenter og andre grupper på det medisinske fagfeltet. Interesserte leger vil finne glede i mange gode omtaler av de virusene som beskrives. Forfatteren henvender seg også til personer med frykt for virus og sykdommer de kan forårsake, da kunnskap trolig kan mildne slik frykt.

Boken anbefales på det varmeste og bør kunne få en stor lesekrets. Mange flere virus venter på å bli tatt med på neste reise!"

Nis Grude, Tidsskrift for Den norske legeforening

Med virus som reisekamerat

Går det an å skrive en opplysende, relativt lettlest og samtidig underholdende bok om virus? Det klarer legen og forfatteren Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik med denne boken.

Med et til tider muntert skråblikk og historiske anekdoter viser han at virus ikke bare er farlige, de kan også være nyttige.

Jan-Erik Smilden, Aftenposten historie

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Author Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik

Eystein Hellstrøm Hoddevik (b. 1980) has a PhD in molecular biology and neuroscience and works as a medical doctor. He has lived in France, Scotland, Germany and Sweden and has previously worked in the navy, on ships, in internal medicine and in the accident and emergency department. He is currently employed at the Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, and teaches at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo.

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Foreign rights
Serbia

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