The Little Book of Pandemics

Science News,  Feb 16, 2008  

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THE LITTLE BOOK OF PANDEMICS PETER MOORE

Hypochondriacs and germophobes may want to look for a less terrifying bedtime read--perhaps something by Stephen King. Moore's breezy catalog of pestilence features the world's most notorious killers, such as Ebola, anthrax, and smallpox. The book also highlights dozens of lesser-known infections. For instance, English sweating sickness, a mysterious, swift-killing disease, appeared in 15th- and 16th-century England and then vanished. Scientists still don't know what caused it. Rift Valley fever, a mosquito-borne virus that hit Sudan recently, can lead to hemorrhaging and seizures and kills one out of a hundred. Moore devotes a few pages to each of 50 infectious diseases, describing their origins, symptoms, and treatments (if there are any). He also rates every infection on the basis of how fast it spreads and how likely its victims are to survive. Collins, 2007, 144 p., paperback, $14.95.

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