Is it possible to catch autism or OCD the same way we catch the flu? Can a child's contact with cat litter lead to schizophrenia? In her eye-opening new book, Harriet Washington, author of the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning Medical Apartheid, reveals that we can in fact "catch" mental illness. In INFECTIOUS MADNESS, Washington presents the new germ theory, which posits that many instances of Alzheimer's, OCD, and schizophrenia are caused by viruses, prions, and bacteria, and that with antibiotics, vaccinations, and other strategies, these cases can be easily prevented or treated. Packed with cutting-edge research and tantalizing mysteries, INFECTIOUS MADNESS is rich in science, characters, and practical advice on how to protect yourself and your children from exposure to infectious threats that could sabotage your mental and physical health.

About the Author
Harriet A. Washington, Shearing Fellow at the University of Nevada's Black Mountain Institute, has been a Research Fellow in Medical Ethics at Harvard Medical School and a senior research scholar at the National Center for Bioethics at Tuskegee University She has held fellowships at the Harvard School of Public Health, Stanford University and DePaul University College of Law. She wrote Deadly Monopolies and Medical Apartheid, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Oakland Award, and the American Library Association Black Caucus Nonfiction Award.


Book Information
ISBN 9780316277815
Author Harriet A. Washington
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Back Bay Books
Publisher Little, Brown & Company
Weight(grams) 294g
Dimensions(mm) 139mm * 230mm * 209mm