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Preface to the First Edition

Viruses have historically flickered in and out of the public consciousness. In the eight years since we finished the first edition of Basic Virology much has happened, both in the world and in virology, to fan the flames of this awareness.

In this period we have seen the development of a vaccine to protect women against human papilloma virus type 16. This major advance could well lead to a drastic reduction in the occurrence of cervical cancer. In addition, viruses as gene delivery vectors have increased the prospect of targeted treatments for a number of genetic diseases. The heightened awareness and importance of the epidemiological potential of viruses, in both natural and man‐caused outbreaks, have stimulated the search for both prophylactic and curative treatments.

However, the events of September 11, 2001, dramatically and tragically altered our perceptions. A new understanding of threat now pervades our public and private actions. In this new arena, viruses have taken center stage as the world prepares for the use of infectious agents such as smallpox in acts of bioterrorism.

Naturally occurring virological issues also continue to capture our attention. West Nile virus, originally limited to areas of North Africa and the Middle East, has utilized the modern transportation network to arrive in North America. Its rapid spread to virtually every state in the union has been both a public health nightmare and a vivid demonstration of the opportunism of infectious diseases. The continuing AIDS pandemic reminds us of the terrible cost of this opportunism. In addition, we are now faced with the very real prospect of the next pandemic strain of influenzas, perhaps derived from the avian H5N1 virus now circulating in wild and domestic birds.

It is against this backdrop of hope and concern that we have revised Basic Virology.

This book is based on more than 40 years in aggregate of undergraduate lectures on virology commencing in 1970 given by the coauthors (Wagner, Hewlett, Bloom, and Camerini) at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), the University of Arizona, and the University of Florida. The field of virology has matured and grown immensely during this time, but one of the major joys of teaching this subject continues to be the solid foundation it provides in topics running the gamut of the biological sciences. Concepts range from population dynamics and population ecology, through evolutionary biology and theory, to the most fundamental and detailed analyses of the biochemistry and molecular biology of gene expression and biological structures. Thus, teaching virology has been a learning tool for us as much as, or more than, it has been for our students.

Our courses are consistently heavily subscribed, and we credit that to the subject material, certainly not to any special performance tricks or instructional techniques. Participants have been mainly premedical students, but we have enjoyed the presence of other students bound for postgraduate studies, as well as a good number of those who are just trying to get their degree and get out of the “mill” and into the “grind.”

At UCI, in particular, the course had a tremendous enrollment (approximately 250 students per year) in the past 5–8 years, and it has become very clear that the material is very challenging for a sizable minority studying it. While this is good, the course was expanded in time to five hours per week for a 10‐week quarter to accommodate only those students truly interested in being challenged. Simply put, there is a lot of material to master, and mastery requires a solid working knowledge of basic biology and, most importantly, the desire to learn. This “experiment” has been very successful, and student satisfaction with the expanded course is, frankly, gratifying. To help students acquire such working knowledge, we have encouraged further reading. We have also included a good deal of reinforcement material to help students learn the basic skills of molecular biology and rudimentary aspects of immunology, pathology, and disease. Furthermore, we have incorporated numerous study and discussion questions at the end of chapters and sections to aid in discussion of salient points.

It is our hope that this book will serve as a useful text and source for many undergraduates interested in acquiring a solid foundation in virology and its relationship to modern biology. It is also hoped that the book may be of use to more advanced workers who want to make a quick foray into virology but who do not want to wade through the details present in more advanced works.