Common Cold

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-x

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2. A short history of the common cold

   • Isabel Atzl, Roland Helms

   Pages 1-21

3. Mechanisms of symptoms of common cold and flu

   • Ronald Eccles

   Pages 23-45

4. Common respiratory infections diagnosed in general practice

   • Alex J. Elliot, Douglas M. Fleming

   Pages 47-75

5. Epidemiology

   • Ian M. Mackay, Katherine E. Arden, Stephen B. Lambert

   Pages 77-106

6. The role of viruses in the etiology and pathogenesis of common cold

   • Olaf Weber

   Pages 107-147

7. Etiology of the common cold: Modulating factors

   • William J. Doyle, Sheldon Cohen

   Pages 149-186

8. Host defenses

   • Sherif Beniameen Mossad

   Pages 187-196

9. Transmission of colds

   • Diane E. Pappas, J. Owen Hendley

   Pages 197-210

10. Interventions to prevent transmission of the common cold

    • Mieke van Driel, Chris Del Mar

    Pages 211-219

11. Antivirals for the common cold

    • Tom Jefferson

    Pages 221-236

12. Antibiotic use for common cold

    • Timothy W. Kenealy, Bruce Arroll

    Pages 237-247

13. Over the counter medicines for colds

    • Ronald Eccles

    Pages 249-273

14. Vitamins and minerals

    • Harri Hemilä

    Pages 275-307

15. Herbal, traditional and alternative remedies

    • Florin Mihail

    Pages 309-347

16. Back Matter

    Pages 349-355

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The common cold is unlike any other human disease because of two f- tors: firstly, it is arguably the most common human disease and, secondly, it is one of the most complex diseases because of the number of viruses that cause the familiar syndrome of sneezing, sore throat, runny nose and nasal congestion. These two factors have made a ‘cure’ for the common cold one of the most difficult scientific and clinical endeavours (a topic often d- cussed in the popular media, where comparisons are made with the ease of putting a man on the moon). The present book brings together a wide range of experts from epidemiologists to virologists and pharmacologists to look at recent advances in our knowledge of the common cold. In some respects the book is unique, as it focuses on the common cold, a syndrome so familiar to the layperson but one that receives little attention from the scientist and clinician. The common cold can be viewed from many different aspects as illustrated in Figure 1. The core knowledge for understanding the common cold must first come from virology and this is discussed in several chapters of the book. There have been major advances in this field because of the use of new methods of detecting viruses such as polymerase chain reaction techniques that have greatly aided our understanding of the epidemiology of viruses associated with common cold.

• Atmen
• Common Cold
• antibiotic
• antibiotic use
• antibiotics
• infection
• infections
• infectious
• infectious disease
• pathogenesis
• respiratory infection

From the reviews: “This is an interesting and comprehensive monograph on the syndrome familiar to us all as ‘the common cold’. … the editors have generally avoided repetition and many of the chapters are data-rich, with good overviews of the epidemiology and treatments, many of which are refreshingly up-to-date. … The book also contains a wealth of useful background information on the economic and societal impact of the common cold, and is recommended for institutional purchase.” (David J. Evans, Microbiology Today, August, 2010)

• Common Cold Centre Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

  Ronald Eccles

• Institute of Molecular Medicine and Experimental Immunology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, Germany

  Olaf Weber

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