Preventing infectious diseases in spacecraft and space habitats -- Bacterial resistance to hospital disinfection -- Disinfection of microbial aerosols -- The role of the indigenous gut microbiota in human health and disease -- Buruli ulcer: Case Study of a Neglected Tropical Disease -- Coccidioidomycosis: increasing incidence of an 'orphan' disease in response to environmental changes -- Antibiotic resistant environmental bacteria and their role as reservoirs in disease -- Population dynamics, invasion and biological control of environmentally growing opportunistic pathogens -- Of ducks and men - ecology and evolution of a zoonotic pathogen in a wild reservoir host.

This volume focuses on blocking disease transmission and the ecological perspective of pathogens and pathogenic processes. The chapters on blocking transmission cover the environmental safety of space flight, biocides and biocide resistance, as well as infection control in healthcare facilities. The book also offers insights into the ecological aspects of infectious disease, introducing the reader to the role of indigenous gut microbiota in maintaining human health and current discussions on environmentally encountered bacterial and fungal pathogens including species that variously cause the necrotizing skin disease Buruli ulcer and coccidioidomycosis. Further, it explores the influenza A virus as an example for understanding zoonosis. It is a valuable resource for microbiologists and biomedical scientists alike.