دانلود کتاب تب مغزی: چگونه واکسن ها از مننژیت و سایر بیماری های کشنده جلوگیری می کنند

The idea of writing this book first came to me when attending an Oxford college dinner in the autumn of 2015 at which I was asked to say a few words about my research. I had about three minutes to summarise 17 years of work on a new vaccinea against a devastating disease called meningitis. Although most of my colleagues knew this was a serious brain infection, there was confusion about what kinds of germs caused it. An expert on child education told me she had been involved in studies on children with brain damage caused by meningitis, but had no idea that it could be prevented by immunisation. An atmospheric physicist and a lead investigator of numerous planetary missions wanted to know why it took so long to develop a vaccine. A historian was concerned that immunisation could be harmful and asked whether a vaccine could cause meningitis if something went wrong. It brought home to me that even among this very educated group, so many key facts were not known or were lost in translation. I began my medical research career in 1971 when a new era in developing vaccines against bacterial meningitis had just started. I have worked alongside and known all the major protagonists — a diverse, engaging and sometimes controversial cast of scientists. As a paediatrician, I have personal experience of looking after children with bacterial meningitis and the devastation it causes to families, their friends and their communities. But none of these experiences prepares one adequately to write a book on such a complex topic that is accessible to a wide readership. Promoting a wider understanding of science and its role in society involves that hardest of goals: simplifying without distortion. I do not subscribe to the prevalent notion that writing about science is too difficult or uninteresting to engage those who are curious. An author may not communicate clearly, but that is not the fault of the reader. I have tried to minimise technical details, avoid jargon and use explanatory footnotes.