Review of: Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat,4 th ed.

Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, 4^th ed.

Craig E. Greene, DVM, MS, DACVIM

1354 pages

ISBN-10: 1416061304

ISBN-13: 978-1416061304

In the fourth edition of Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, Dr. Craig Greene provides a well-organized, comprehensive, and clinically accessible reference source for the diagnosis and treatment of canine and feline infections seen throughout the world. Emerging infections affecting the dog and cat, new terminology describing the causative organisms and their relationships within the disease process, as well as the availability of improved diagnostic methodologies create an ever-changing need for up to date and accurate information sources. Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat, (4^th ed.) meets those ever-changing needs.

In addition to providing an extensive and valuable reference source, Dr. Greene has focused on organizing the information within his book in a manner which is easy to read and provides the clinician with straightforward access to disease description, diagnostics, sample preparation, and submission, interpretation of results, and therapeutic techniques. The extensive use of color pictures, charts, and detailed drawings complements the text in helping the reader gain a better understanding of the information being presented within each section. Color-coded tabs on the top of each page, using different colors to identify each section, provides the reader with quick access to information contained within that section. Drug dosage tables are provided within the management and therapy section for most diseases. In addition to the drug dosage tables within the text for individual diseases, an Antimicrobial Drug Formulary is included in the back of the book. The formulary is cross-referenced within each chapter, allowing the reader access to more detailed reference information and tabulated drug dosages. The use of world-wide web links within the book provides the reader the opportunity to access and utilize a vast array of reference material which would not be feasible to publish due to space constraints.

According to current statistics reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 60% of the newly identified infectious agents that have affected humans over the past few decades are caused by pathogens originating from animals or animal products. In recognition of that threat to human health and as a response to alert the reader to possible public health risks arising from a disease process, Dr. Greene has included a description of potential public health considerations at the end of each disease description.

Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat (4^th ed.), in this reviewer's opinion, is a very comprehensive, well-written, organized, and user-friendly reference manual which could be relied upon extensively in both academic and clinical situations.