Pandemic: Tracking Contagions, from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
From the author of The Fever, a wide-ranging inquiry into the origins of pandemics
Interweaving history, original reportage, and personal narrative, Pandemic explores the origin of epidemics, drawing parallels between the story of cholera--one of history's most disruptive and deadly pathogens--and the new pathogens that stalk humankind today, from Ebola and avian influenza to drug-resistant superbugs.
More than three hundred infectious diseases have emerged or reemerged in new territory during the past fifty years, and 90 percent of epidemiologists expect that one of them will cause a disruptive, deadly pandemic sometime in the next two generations.
To reveal how that might happen, Sonia Shah tracks each stage of cholera's dramatic journey from harmless microbe to world-changing pandemic, from its 1817 emergence in the South Asian hinterlands to its rapid dispersal across the nineteenth-century world and its latest beachhead in Haiti. She reports on the pathogens following in cholera's footsteps, from the MRSA bacterium that besieges her own family to the never-before-seen killers emerging from China's wet markets, the surgical wards of New Delhi, the slums of Port-au-Prince, and the suburban backyards of the East Coast.
By delving into the convoluted science, strange politics, and checkered history of one of the world's deadliest diseases, Pandemic reveals what the next epidemic might look like--and what we can do to prevent it.
Related to Pandemic
Related audiobooks
Plague: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Duel Without End: Mankind's Battle with Microbes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Black Death: Causes, Fatalities, and Effects of the Plague Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coronavirus Pandemic: The History of the COVID-19 Disease and Its Outbreak across the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The World’s Deadliest Plagues: The History and Legacy of the Worst Global Pandemics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 1889-1890 Flu Pandemic: The History of the 19th Century’s Last Major Global Outbreak Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Epidemics: Hate and Compassion from the Plague of Athens to AIDS Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Viruses, Pandemics, and Immunity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPandemics: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mad Dogs and Other New Yorkers: Rabies, Medicine, and Society in an American Metropolis, 1840–1920 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlagues and Their Aftermath: How Societies Recover from Pandemics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAge Of Pandemics (1817-1920): How they shaped India and the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deadly Companions: How Microbes Shaped Our History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Monster Enters: COVID-19, AVIAN FLU AND THE PLAGUES OF CAPITALISM Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America and the Fears They Have Unleashed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5HERBAL ANTIVIRALS: Building Resilience Against Viral Threats with Herbal Antivirals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEpidemic: Ebola and the Global Scramble to Prevent the Next Killer Outbreak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deadly Invaders: Virus Outbreaks Around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outbreaks and Epidemics: Battling infection from measles to coronavirus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Infectious: Pathogens and How We Fight Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEpidemiology: A Very Short Introduction Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Disease & History: From Ancient Times to Covid-19 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rich Flee and the Poor Take the Bus: How Our Unequal Society Fails Us during Outbreaks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World It Made Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Infections and Inequalities: The Modern Plagues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlagues upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Social Science For You
Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Song of Achilles: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Own It All: How to Stop Waiting for Change and Start Creating It. Because Your Life Belongs to You. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You're Cute When You're Mad: Simple Steps for Confronting Sexism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Land of Delusion: Out on the edge with the crackpots and conspiracy-mongers remaking our shared reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hate U Give Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Pandemic
50 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"By 2008, a leading medical journal acknowledged what had become obvious to many: the demise of infectious diseases in developed societies had been 'greatly exaggerated.' Infectious pathogens had returned, and not only in the neglected, impoverished corners of the world but also in the most advanced cities and their prosperous suburbs. In 2008, disease experts marked the spot where each new pathogen emerged on a world map, using red points. Crimson splashed across a band from 30 to 60 degrees north of the equator to 30 to 40 degrees south. The entire heart of the global economy was swathed in red: northeastern United States, western Europe, Japan, and southeastern Australia. Economic development provided no panacea against contagion...."This book is a history of past epidemics/pandemics, together with thoughts and predictions about possible future epidemics/pandemics of diseases old and new. Each chapter of the book relates to a particular stage/requirement for the development of a pandemic, as follows:1. "The Jump"--how, where and when pathogens, old and new, move from a host to humans.2. "Locomotion"--how pathogens spread among humans. There is an interesting example of a new pathogen, NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamose) which has spread because of the growth in "medical tourism."3. "Filth"--the role poor sanitation has played in the spread of pathogens. We think we're safe in modern times, but then she points out things I've never thought of--diseases spread by cat and dog feces, not to mention people who live downwind of factory-farms raising pigs. Also, in present-day Haiti, only 19% of its population has access to toilets or latrines.4. "Crowds"--Urban crowding facilitates the spread. In addition, as civilization moves into previously undeveloped areas, new pathogens are exposed.5. "Corruption"--We can't always rely on our public officials to do the right thing. An interesting historic example was how Aaron Burr received a lucrative contract to bring clean water to New York City. However, he pocketed most of the money and tapped into a contaminated water source. In addition, officials are frequently reluctant to impose quarantines or to issue health alerts, usually for economic reasons. Modern examples of this abound, from the Chinese authorities at first hiding and then downplaying the initial outbreak of SARS, to Saudi Arabia seeking to stifle the reporting of MERS, to India downplaying the significance of NDM-1.Drug companies are complicit in pushing for the overuse of antibiotics, resulting in the development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. In addition, many of our health policies are strongly influenced or even controlled by corporations and other entities that have conflicts of interest. For example, insecticide companies help WHO set malaria policy, even though the need for their product would be eliminated by the eradication of malaria. Today, 75% of WHO's budget comes from voluntary contributions, and many of the donors earmark what the contributions can be used for. In a recent year 91% of WHO's voluntary contributions were earmarked for diseases that account for only 8% of global mortality.6. "Blame"--examples abound. For example, Haitians blamed UN aid workers for the cholera outbreak after the earthquake. South Africa in the 1980's disputed stories by Western journalists about the AIDS crisis in Africa. Many people in developing countries are suspicious of vaccination programs, sometimes suspecting that they are actually being used for sterilization purposes. (Not to mention people in developed countries avoiding vaccinations as causing autism). 7."The Cure"--scientific research to develop cures and programs for water purification.8. "Revenge of the Sea"--The world has been brought infinitely closer together as the result of fossil fuels, which facilitates the spread of pathogens. This chapter also tracks the spread of new types of cholera, the hosts for which are moved by ocean currents which are changing as our climate changes.9. "The Logic of Pandemics"--a discussion of how our genetic makeup helps/hinders the spread of pathogens to ensure that there will always be some humans to outwit any plague.10. "Tracking the Next Pandemic"--our current surveillance systems are inadequate. This may also tie into "Corruption."This was an eye-opening and informative book. Recommended.3 1/2 stars
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great book about how pandemics work. Like the background book for covid-19.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I would like to describe this book as not being alarmist. But, honestly, it is rather alarming when the author puts into context just how many potential, havoc wreaking superbugs are out there just waiting for the right combination of factors to initiate a society-collapsing pandemic. Other than that, and the overwhelming feeling of needing to wash my hands, thumbs up, great stuff!