A leading epidemiologist shares his "powerful and necessary"
(Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone) stories from the front
lines of our war on infectious diseases and explains how to prepare for
global epidemics -- featuring a new preface on COVID-19.
Unlike natural disasters, whose destruction is concentrated in a limited
area over a period of days, and illnesses, which have devastating
effects but are limited to individuals and their families, infectious
disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global
scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and
transportation to a grinding halt.
In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and
materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern
infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics
nearly inevitable. And as outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, MERS, and Zika
have demonstrated, we are woefully underprepared to deal with the
fallout. So what can -- and must -- we do in order to protect ourselves
from mankind's deadliest enemy?
Drawing on the latest medical science, case studies, policy research,
and hard-earned epidemiological lessons, Deadliest Enemy explores the
resources and programs we need to develop if we are to keep ourselves
safe from infectious disease. The authors show how we could wake up to a
reality in which many antibiotics no longer cure, bioterror is a
certainty, and the threat of a disastrous influenza or coronavirus
pandemic looms ever larger. Only by understanding the challenges we face
can we prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable.
Deadliest Enemy is high scientific drama, a chronicle of medical
mystery and discovery, a reality check, and a practical plan of action.
