Preface

Bacterial infections are a global health issue. Despite many advances in the fields of science, medicine, diagnostic methods, and treatment with anti-microbials, bacterial infections remain a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality around the world. The emergence of large numbers of resistant strains of bacteria, persistent problems due to biofilm infections, and increasing awareness of co-infections and opportunistic pathogens have created an urgent demand for current, linked, evidence-based information. The first part of Bacterial Infections: Diagnosis and Treatment has been compiled to provide timely and relevant information about bacterial infections, from basic principles to new therapies.

The introduction of this part provides a historical perspective of bacterial infections, presenting the major events that have contributed to the current understanding and clinical management of bacterial infections. Following the introduction, the part presents an extensive description of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of bacterial infections. A major focus of this section will be to discuss the global impact of bacterial infections, how bacteria are transmitted between people, the interactions that occur between bacteria and their human host, and how bacteria are able to produce disease. The last section of this part reviews the existing antibacterial medications and treatment protocols; this review provides a robust clinical basis to support the subsequent sections of the work.

The concluding chapters are intended to bring together a variety of innovative drug delivery systems, as well as new, sophisticated antimicrobial therapeutic platforms that are intended to increase the effectiveness of antimicrobial medications while simultaneously decreasing the likelihood of developing antimicrobial resistance. It has been constructed in such a way that the initial foundation laid will be further complemented by recent advances in science and technology, thus providing the most comprehensive source available for infection disease clinicians, researchers, academics, pharmaceutical scientists, and graduate students involved in infectious disease research and clinical practice.

Part II of the series provides information that supports both the information in Part I and some of the advances in integrative, genetic, immunological, and digital technologies that could support the treatment of bacterial infections in the future, as well as addresses some of the issues of increasing bacterial resistance to current antibiotic therapies.