| |
| |
| Acknowledgments | |
| |
| |
| Abbreviations | |
| |
| |
| Introduction | |
| |
| |
| |
| Infection and Immunity | |
| |
| |
| What is the difference between a virus and a bacterium? | |
| |
| |
| What is the difference between RNA and DNA? | |
| |
| |
| Aren't viruses also much smaller than bacteria? | |
| |
| |
| Why is it important to distinguish viruses from bacteria when discussing pandemics? | |
| |
| |
| Are colds and flu caused by hundreds of viruses? | |
| |
| |
| What exactly is a pathogen? | |
| |
| |
| How does infection happen? | |
| |
| |
| What is snot? | |
| |
| |
| What is a horizontal infection? Is there another kind? | |
| |
| |
| Are all virus and bacterial infections bad for us? | |
| |
| |
| If there is a bacterial and protozoal "microbiome," is there also a "virome"? | |
| |
| |
| What does "immunity" mean? | |
| |
| |
| What are monoclonal antibodies? | |
| |
| |
| Would you describe mAbs as drugs or vaccines? | |
| |
| |
| What are vaccines? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Pandemics, Epidemics, and Outbreaks | |
| |
| |
| What is the exact definition of pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Who declares a pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Was the H1N1 "swine flu" really so mild? | |
| |
| |
| How does the WHO operate? | |
| |
| |
| Should the pandemic classification system be refined? | |
| |
| |
| How does a pandemic differ from an epidemic or an outbreak? | |
| |
| |
| Do all pandemics involve infection? | |
| |
| |
| What does the term "zoonosis" mean? | |
| |
| |
| What is an endemic infection, and how does it differ from an epidemic infection? | |
| |
| |
| Are plants also included in the world of pandemics? | |
| |
| |
| In Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| The SARS Warning | |
| |
| |
| Why was SARS so scary? | |
| |
| |
| How did SARS spread so quickly through hospitals? | |
| |
| |
| What caused SARS and where did the pathogen come from? | |
| |
| |
| Aside from "natural" reservoirs, are there other potential sources of SARS? | |
| |
| |
| What steps were taken to stop the SARS outbreak? | |
| |
| |
| Did the SARS experience have long-term effects, and what lessons were learned? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Tuberculosis and Influenza | |
| |
| |
| Why should TB and influenza be considered together? | |
| |
| |
| What is the current situation with TB? | |
| |
| |
| Is multi-drug-resistant TB still an issue? | |
| |
| |
| What is being done to combat the MDR TB threat? | |
| |
| |
| Why might influenza remain the most obvious known pandemic threat? | |
| |
| |
| What are the different kinds of influenza viruses? | |
| |
| |
| What is antigenic shift and why is it so dangerous? | |
| |
| |
| Are birds and pigs our main concern when it comes to catching the flu? | |
| |
| |
| What was so special about the virus that caused the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Is our capacity to counter influenza improving? | |
| |
| |
| Are we making progress with flu vaccines? | |
| |
| |
| Apart from vaccines, are there other products available to prevent infection? | |
| |
| |
| How afraid should we be of influenza? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Fledermaus to Field Mouse | |
| |
| |
| What's a fledermaus? | |
| |
| |
| Is it unusual that fruit bats carry SARS? | |
| |
| |
| Are the henipaviruses potential pandemic pathogens? | |
| |
| |
| Is Ebola the scariest of all viruses? | |
| |
| |
| What exactly is a hemorrhagic disease? | |
| |
| |
| Are filoviruses the main cause of hemorrhagic fevers? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Virus Vectors | |
| |
| |
| What is a vector? | |
| |
| |
| What is WNV, and has it been around for very long? | |
| |
| |
| WNV infects birds, horses, and humans-does it also multiply in mosquitoes? | |
| |
| |
| What exactly is yellow fever virus? | |
| |
| |
| What do we know about the global movements of arboviruses? | |
| |
| |
| Do mosquitoes and ticks really carry needles? | |
| |
| |
| What are the pandemic risks when it comes to these vectored viruses? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Single-Host Human Pathogens | |
| |
| |
| Is an infection that is already widespread in humans likely to cause a pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| What are noroviruses? | |
| |
| |
| Are the noroviruses our only concern when it comes to the virus diarrheas? | |
| |
| |
| What is intussusception? | |
| |
| |
| Are there other ways of protecting against these viruses? | |
| |
| |
| Apart from the hemorrhagic viruses, are cholera and typhoid the main causes of skin spots? | |
| |
| |
| Is measles something that we should still be worried about? | |
| |
| |
| Are there any other kinds of GI tract infections? | |
| |
| |
| Is there a good hepatitis vaccine? | |
| |
| |
| Are HepB and HepC the most dangerous of the hepatitis viruses? | |
| |
| |
| Why is chronic hepatitis so dangerous? | |
| |
| |
| Is it safe to have a blood transfusion? | |
| |
| |
| Are any of these single-host human pathogens likely to cause pandemics? | |
| |
| |
| |
| HIV/AIDS | |
| |
| |
| Is HIV still a concern? | |
| |
| |
| Can what's happening now with HIV/AIDS be described as a pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Is there any improvement in the AIDS situation? | |
| |
| |
| Where did this virus come from, and why didn't we see AIDS before 1981? | |
| |
| |
| Was AIDS active much earlier in Africa? | |
| |
| |
| Does the immune system fail totally when confronted with HIV? | |
| |
| |
| How does HIV target the CD4+ T cell? | |
| |
| |
| Do we yet have a vaccine for AIDS? | |
| |
| |
| Will we ever have a vaccine for AIDS? | |
| |
| |
| Has science failed us when it comes to HIV/AIDS? | |
| |
| |
| What progress has been made in the last 25 years? | |
| |
| |
| Could AIDS blow up in some way to cause an even bigger problem? | |
| |
| |
| Once in the human body, can HIV ever be eliminated? | |
| |
| |
| The Bottom Line | |
| |
| |
| |
| Mad Cows and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease | |
| |
| |
| Has there ever been a mad cow or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| So what is spongiform encephalopathy? | |
| |
| |
| If the TSEs are infections, what's the big mystery? | |
| |
| |
| Did BSE originate from sheep scrapie? | |
| |
| |
| What is "bone meal"? | |
| |
| |
| Has anyone contacted vCJD from eating imported British beef? | |
| |
| |
| Was there even the possibility of a BSE/vCJD pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Does the history of BSE/CJD raise other concerns? | |
| |
| |
| Are the TSEs a pandemic risk? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Economics and the Human-Animal Equation | |
| |
| |
| What type of pandemic infection causes the most economic damage? | |
| |
| |
| Is a novel respiratory infection the only economic threat? | |
| |
| |
| Will it be massively expensive if quarantine officials are suddenly faced with an emergency? | |
| |
| |
| From a financial standpoint, does influenza remain our main concern? | |
| |
| |
| Why is FMD so damaging? | |
| |
| |
| Could there ever be a global FMD pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| Has an animal virus ever been introduced deliberately into "virgin soil"? | |
| |
| |
| Other than as a consequence of bioterrorism, is a veterinary pandemic likely? | |
| |
| |
| Are animal and human pandemics dealt with very differently? | |
| |
| |
| Can returning tourists be infected with something that transmits to animals? | |
| |
| |
| Can imported animals infect humans? | |
| |
| |
| Can humans be infected from imported animal or other products? | |
| |
| |
| In Summary | |
| |
| |
| |
| Bioterrorism | |
| |
| |
| Could sophisticated terrorists initiate a pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| What about Saddam Hussein and his weapons of mass destruction? | |
| |
| |
| Why is a rogue state more worrisome than a terrorist cell when it comes to biological weapons? | |
| |
| |
| Why would smallpox potentially be used in bioterrorism? | |
| |
| |
| What do we know about anthrax? | |
| |
| |
| Can you envision other novel bioterror pandemic scenarios? | |
| |
| |
| Is a bioterrorist-initiated pandemic unlikely? | |
| |
| |
| |
| Protecting Humanity from and during Pandemics | |
| |
| |
| Is there anything that I can do personally to limit the possibility of a dangerous pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| What if I become ill while traveling? | |
| |
| |
| What if I develop symptoms after I return home? | |
| |
| |
| Apart from being a responsible traveler, what else might I do? | |
| |
| |
| Are there useful steps that I can take at the level of my local community? | |
| |
| |
| How do I protect my family if a pandemic hits? | |
| |
| |
| Does the idea of being "too clean" apply to pandemics? | |
| |
| |
| Where do I look for help if I become infected during the course of a major pandemic? | |
| |
| |
| The Bottom Line | |
| |
| |
| |
| Conclusions | |
| |
| |
| Further Reading | |
| |
| |
| Index | |