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Introduction to the 10th Edition of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology

JAMES VERSALOVIC

1The 10th edition of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology (MCM10) marks a significant milestone in the evolution of this important work. Since its inception with the pub-lication of the first edition in 1970, the Manual has been served by four editors in chief working in close cooperation with a team of editors and ASM Press. The prior editor in chief, Patrick R. Murray, established the foundation for the current system of two volumes (as of the eighth edition), a comprehensive array of content in all aspects of microbiol-ogy, and a highly committed team of volume and section editors working within a four-year publication cycle. This edition includes several changes to the editorial team, including a new editor in chief and three new volume edi-tors. The number of volume editors was increased from four to five in order to enhance the quality of the Manual and reduce the average volume editor workload. Two volume editors, Marie Louise Landry and James Jorgensen, served past editions of the Manual. Three new volume editors, Karen Carroll, Guido Funke, and David Warnock, stepped into new roles after serving the Manual previously as sec-tion editors and chapter authors. Guido Funke is the first volume editor from outside the United States, highlighting the growing importance of international contributions in recent editions. Approximately 19 and 30% of section editors and chapter authors, respectively, contributed content from non-U.S. countries. Historically, the Manual has benefited from the continuity of participation of many leaders in medical and diagnostic microbiology. The five volume editors deserve much of the credit for bringing the 10th edition to life. In addition, Ronald Atlas was an important addition to the section editor team, providing guidance regarding media, reagents, and stains. A total of 16 section editors (including 10 new section editors) completed the editorial team and provided direct links with nearly 270 chapter authors (including 75 new authors who did not contribute to the ninth edition).

The overall organization of the Manual is similar to that of the ninth edition, and the chapter formats are basically unchanged. The total number of chapters was reduced from 152 in the ninth edition to 149 chapters in the current edi-tion. The Natural Habitats subheading was completely removed from this edition, and this content was absorbed into the Description of the Agents or Epidemiology and Transmission subheading in organism chapters. The table

of contents and introductory topics were modified and adapted to fit the needs of a changing landscape in medical microbiology. Sections I, II, and III of the ninth edition were merged into a single section entitled Diagnostic Strategies and General Topics. The 18 chapters that comprised these three sections in the ninth edition were condensed into 14 chapters in one section. Chapters cov-ering laboratory management and laboratory information systems were deleted because this content is covered well in general textbooks of laboratory medicine. The chapter on specimen collection and handling in Section I of the ninth edition was replaced by more-specific chapters on this topic in the bacteriology, virology, mycology, and parasitology sections. Chapters were added to address relatively new areas of pathogen discovery, microbial genomics, and metagenomics (chapters 13 and 14). The Human Microbiome Project is described in chapter 13, an entirely new chapter covering rapid advances in technol-ogy and significant implications for the future of medical microbiology. In chapter 14, microarrays and sequencing technologies are described as tools for discovery of novel human pathogens.

In the bacteriology section, some of the Algorithms chapters were reformulated as General Approaches chap-ters, and these chapters were moved to each subsec-tion in the bacteriology section. The MCM9 chapter on Enterobacteriaceae was removed, while the chapter on Escherichia, Shigella, and Salmonella was retained. The Bordetella chapter was expanded and renamed Bordetella and Related Genera. In Section III (Antibacterial Agents and Susceptibility Test Methods), one chapter covering testing instrumentation and computerized expert systems was moved from the MCM9 section on diagnostic tech-nologies. In Section IV (Virology), the H1N1 pandemic challenged our authors and editors to expand and update the chapter on influenza viruses, and the chapter describ-ing enteric viruses was renamed Gastroenteritis Viruses. In Section VI (Mycology), the chapters describing fungi were restructured and renamed to keep up with changes in taxonomy. The chapter describing Aspergillus, Fusarium, and other fungi was divided into one chapter describing Aspergillus and Penicillium and a separate chapter covering Fusarium and hyaline fungi; the word moniliaceous was removed from the title. The term dematiaceous fungi was

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4 n DIAGNOSTIC STRATEGIES AND GENERAL TOPICS

replaced with melanized fungi in the chapter describing Bipolaris and related organisms. The parasitology section of the 10th edition (Section VIII) is unchanged from that of the ninth edition. The virology and parasitology sections were substantially reorganized in the ninth edition, and therefore these sections did not require significant changes in the current edition.

Now entering its fifth decade, the Manual strives to continue to be the leading, most authoritative reference for the real-world practice of clinical microbiology. In order to create and assemble each edition, this publication builds on the content of past editions, and the process requires about 3 years of careful planning, design, writing, and review of chapters before the final phases of copyedit-ing, composition, printing, and binding. In the intervening 1 to 2 years from the time of chapter acceptances until

printing, new diagnostic trends, technologies, pathogens, and patterns of infectious diseases may emerge or change in ways that affect the timeliness and relevance of this comprehensive reference. This sobering reality simply goes with the territory of compiling any authoritative body of work. Hopefully the Manual continues to provide a highly respected benchmark and authoritative reference for the entire field of clinical microbiology. In the era of mass collaboration and rapid communication, our team at the Manual trusts that our readership, each of you, will contribute to the future of this field by pointing out errors, issues, and trends that serve to strengthen the Manual and its next edition. The work never stops, and the knowledge base keeps growing. So let us all continue to enhance the practice and contribute to the evolution of our cherished profession of clinical microbiology.