Infections and the Rheumatic Diseases

This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the basic and clinical aspects of infections and infectious processes that trigger or aggravate a variety of autoimmune and inflammatory musculoskeletal disorders. It delivers a timely update on the interactions between infection and rheumatic diseases in order to provide clinicians with the tools they need for proper diagnosis and treatment.

The book is divided into five main sections. The first examines the basic aspects of bacterial infections with a discussion of molecular biology, the microbiome, various types of bacteria that cause infection, and recent advances in biologic therapy. The next section focuses on different forms of viral arthritis including hepatitis arthritis, arthritis associated with alpha viruses, and parvovirus-related arthritis. Subsequent chapters then discuss arthritis caused by mycobacteria, fungi, spirochete, and other miscellaneous arthritides. Following this are various analyzations on reactive arthritis and infection-related rheumatic diseases such as Whipple’s Disease, SAPHO Syndrome, rheumatic fever, and HIV-associated rheumatic manifestations. Finally, the book closes with three chapters on external impacts on infectious diseases such as climate change, vaccinations and systemic lupus erythematosus.