CONTENTS
1 Cover
5 Epigraph
7 Introduction An ever-present danger Let’s do our homework A tool for understanding the present and preparing for the future
8 Part I Sharing the World with Microorganisms 1 Travel Companions They were here first Peaceful passengers The dark side A bit of terminology Bacteria Viruses: the smallest life form? Fungi: microscopic mushrooms 2 The Story of a Never-Ending Struggle The invisible hand behind things Rats, fleas, and bacteria The ‘Spanish’ flu The resuscitated virus Smallpox, a disease of the past Poliomyelitis: next on the list? Cost in lives, cost in money 3 Our Arsenal Simple but vital The immune system The next step forward: vaccines Cancer vaccines The papilloma vaccine, a controversial solution The danger of listening to the wrong people Future challenges Antibiotics: the offensive begins Powerful poisons or a sophisticated messaging system? Miracles with an expiry date The microbes of the future Resting on our laurels The antibiotics of the future Antivirals Who pays the bills? Control and prevention 4 The Danger of Knowing Too Much The paradox: the more we research, the greater the danger Dangerous information Anthrax Bioterrorists in the USA The return of smallpox? 5 Forgotten Diseases and New Diseases Meningitis Cholera West Nile virus Ebola Marburg: the other serious haemorrhagic fever The ‘forgotten’ diseases Chagas disease Dengue Hand, foot and mouth disease 6 Coronaviruses and Future Pandemics Coronaviruses: the new plague? SARS: the coronaviruses enter the scene MERS, or camel sickness COVID-19 changes everything How to stop the virus The vaccine race The future of the pandemic What lies ahead for SARS-CoV-2 Lessons from COVID-19: how to manage a crisis And the next pandemic? Where is the ‘supervirus’? How can we prevent the spread?
9
Part II Major Modern Epidemics
7 Influenza
The virus’s thousand faces
The killer cold
A