Applications of Information Theory to Epidemiology

In Applications of Information Theory to Epidemiology, author Gareth Hughes gathers together epidemiological applications of information theory and presents them in a manner that makes them accessible to plant disease epidemiologists and others in the field of plant pathology and beyond. He provides a summary of basic concepts, methods, and results that is not only understandable to newcomers to the topic, but is immediately useful and applicable for those using data for making diagnostic determinations.

This is the first book written on information theory applications explicitly for plant disease epidemiology. Few, if any, plant disease epidemiologists have followed closely the epidemiological applications of information theory. One reason for this is that applications of information theory to epidemiology have been devised almost exclusively by clinical epidemiologists. The author’s key methodologies related to diagnostic decision making as it relates to plant diseases are drawn from his career work which includes the epidemiology and modeling of diseases. Dr. Hughes has been honored for his work using real-world disease problems in fruit crops as model systems for the development of methodology for basic research in epidemiology and plant disease losses. The breakthrough results of these basic studies have provided new innovative approaches for the management of diseases and have made a substantial impact on our knowledge in this area of science.

Applications of Information Theory to Epidemiology uses original clinical epidemiology examples as well as phytopathological applications to illustrate theory, citing a wide range of literature. This permits the examples in the book to be used by many diverse groups of scientists. This book is ideally suited for plant pathologists and others with an interest in the quantitative basis for diagnostic decision making. Epidemiologists (botanical, also clinical and veterinary) will find it useful as well. Those who have enjoyed Larry Madden’s The Study of Plant Disease Epidemics will welcome this title as a continuation of the applied knowledge in this area. The author includes a helpful glossary of terms for those new to the nomenclature.