A leading epidemiologist shares his "powerful and necessary" stories from the front lines of our war on infectious diseases and explains how to prepare for global epidemics (Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone).
Unlike natural disasters, whose destruction is concentrated in a limited area over 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 the 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 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 to protect ourselves from infectious diseases. 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 disastrous influenza or coronavirus pandemic looms ever larger. We can only prevent the unthinkable from becoming inevitable by understanding the challenges we face.
Deadliest Enemy is a highly scientific drama, a chronicle of medical mystery and discovery, a reality check, and a practical action plan.
