Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health.

AuthorLietz, Kimberly
PositionREQUIRED READING - Book review

BETRAYAL OF TRUST: THE COLLAPSE OF GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH Laurie Garrett (New York: Hyperion, 2000), 768 pages.

In Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health, Laurie Garrett provides a wealth of information to support her argument that the state of global public health in the 21st century is history's greatest disaster. Using Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States as examples, she illustrates how public health is tightly bound with the social, political and economic status of a nation, and brings attention to the potential effects of one local community's health on that of the global community.

With globalization, Garrett argues, humans are more vulnerable to outbreaks originating in any part of the world; increasingly, the health of each nation depends on the health of all. Most envision the microbial stowaways that accompany the increased number of air travelers, but do not think of the other culprits that are part and parcel of globalization: erroneous and widespread use of antibiotics that create drug resistance; prostitute slave markets that become sources of exported sexually transmitted diseases; mutant...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT