Control of Communicable Diseases Manual

The Control of Communicable Diseases Manual is one of the most widespread single-volume reference volumes on the topic of infectious diseases. It is useful for physicians, global travelers, emergency volunteers and all who have dealt with or might have to deal with public health issues.

History
The first edition, published in 1915, was titled Control of communicable diseases in man; it was also known then as the CCDM.

The first edition was a small pamphlet; for a long time the paperback edition was a handy pocket book. Now, the softcover version would fit in the largest pocket of a very spacious winter coat only.

Latest edition
The 18th edition of the CCDM was published by the American Public Health Association in 2004, under the editorship of David L. Heymann.

The paperback and hardcover editions are both 623 pages. The paperback dimensions are 1.12" x 6.86" x 4.36", hardcover dimensions are 1.32" x 7.34" x 4.40".

The ISBN for the hardcover edition is ISBN 0-87553-182-2, the paperback is ISBN 0-87553-242-X

Disease descriptions
Each disease gets a description divided into nine sections: The size of each section varies considerably. For instance, the reservoir section for smallpox is less than a line long, since this disease is, in theory, only present in the freezers of offcicial laboratories. By contrast,  the anthrax entry has a large paragraph on the current reservoir.
 * 1) Identification
 * 2) Infectious agent
 * 3) Occurrence
 * 4) Reservoir
 * 5) Mode of transmission
 * 6) Incubation period
 * 7) Period of communicability
 * 8) Susceptibility and resistance
 * 9) Methods of control

Availability
The cost of the publication is $US 30. Lower prices are available for members of the APHA.

The full title of this book, as registered in the Library of Congress, is Control of communicable diseases manual : an official report of the American Public Health Association (ISBN 0-87553-242-X).

The book is also available in Spanish and Italian. Many illegal copies have been published in Chinese and Arabic (this made one of the former editors, Dr. Abram S. Benenson, very happy, for it was proof to him that "his" book was really useful).