Handbook of filterable viruses [antikvár]

PREFACE Filterable Viruses or Viruses have been the subject of a considerable amount of investigation during the past decade, and, while our knowledge is still far from complete, there is no doubt that important advances have been made. Voluminous literature has naturally accumulated; much of this is, however, scattered in somewhat obscure journals, and is consequently relatively inaccessible to the general reader. The writer, in preparing this small book, has attempted to present a general survey of the viruses, particularly those causing disease in man, in the hope that the student or general reader may thus be able to acquaint himself with the work that has been carried out in this sphere. A knowledge of viruses is obviously important, as many of the common infectious diseases are caused by these disease-agents. It is hoped that the research worker may also find the book useful as a review of the recent work done on subjects outside his own. Detailed accounts of special technical methods have been purposely omitted, as they are beyond the scope of all but research workers, who usually prefer to consult the original articles, reference to which is given in most instances. It has been assumed that the reader is conversant with the ordinary bacteriological procedures, many of which have been em- vii