A former New York Times reporter specializing in global pandemic threats ranging from COVID -19 to Zika virus presents his take on a wide variety of issues. He is critical of the various early warning systems in place around the world, and points out huge discrepancies in the resulting death toll, when various agencies or political operatives fail to act in a timely manner.
The wide-ranging topics covered include the Zika virus outbreak, Ebola, influenza, syphilis, HIV, and extensive coverage of COVID-19, including continuing speculation about its origin. McNeil never reveals why he left the New York Times in March 2021, so one can speculate. In spite of broad-ranging experience and knowledge there is just a whiff of “I told you so” superiority about the book. His complaints that others deceived him when he published some information that proved wrong, may be true, but do not flatter him.
The natural tendency of pathogens to mutate to become more infectious but less lethal is dismissed with one paragraph, pointing out only one apparent exception, the mutation to the Delta variant of the Corona virus that dominated briefly and was replaced quickly by the Omicron variant that clearly followed the rule. And the rule seems to have applied to other situations, including syphilis, and most flu outbreaks. When a high percentage of hosts are killed as in Ebola, and SARS, the virus basically becomes self-limiting, too lethal for its own good. But this rule perhaps only apples if Homo sapiens is the primary host and not some other species where it can be milder, as in rabies.
Part Four, on what we need, comprising the last 77 pages is wide-ranging including foreign aid, a history of some great successes and some failures, politics, and a lot of common sense, which seems to be in short supply particularly in current U.S. politics. The recommendation to rate outbreaks on a double 5 point scale for infectivity and lethality rather than using emotionally burdened words like emergency, lethal, and even pandemic makes a lot of sense. So does elimination of the religious exemption for vaccinations. We have an obligation, as citizens of the world to protect our neighbours as well as ourselves.
Never mentioned is the possibility that a warming planet could release a viable sporulating pathogen from Arctic permafrost that has been dormant for millennia. This has already happened with an outbreak of Siberian anthrax that killed a 12 year old and thousands of reindeer in 2016. We may not even know that they exist until they strike.
7/10
Thanks, The Economist.
The Passionate Reader 