“Human-caused ecological pressures and disruptions are bringing animal pathogens ever more into contact with human populations, while human technology and behaviour are spreading those pathogens ever more widely and quickly.”
The elimination of smallpox is unquestionably one of humanity’s greatest achievements. Before it was eradicated, it killed upwards of three million people per year in the 20th century, far more than the world wars or any other cause. Sadly, it also remains one of only two diseases to be eradicated in human history (the other is rinderpest): polio has seen a recent resurgence, partly due to unwillingness to accept vaccines, and we aren’t even close on most other diseases. A dramatic failure on humanity’s part, and one with an end goal that we all agree on: it doesn’t bode well for global warming.
Quammen, however, has some more bad (but interesting!) news. Many diseases are zoonotic: they use animals as reservoir hosts, often causing no symptoms, and are only noticed when they mutate and jump to humans. AIDS, Ebola, bubonic plague, Spanish influenza (and all influenzas), West Nile fever, rabies, anthrax, Lyme disease; all zoonotic, and the list goes on. That means elimination isn’t really an option, unless we’re prepared to resort to xenocide against the species in question, and as humans eliminate natural habitats and spread more widely we make cross-species infection, called spillover, more and more likely. In most countries, AIDS education materials recommend practicing safe sex or not sharing needles: in Cameroon, the signs recommend not eating apes.
What makes the book work is that the existence of reservoir hosts makes the study of the disease like a detective novel: scientists have to search for the reservoir and solve the mystery, though most of them don’t wear deerstalkers. Disease is one of those things it’s easy to forget about when we’re not in the grip of a crisis, but preparation, as with anything, is critical to reducing the impact later on. For that reason alone, I’d say it’s worth reading Spillover: the fact that it has some fun stories and interesting characters in it is icing on the cake. Even better, mind you, is seeing Quammen speak in person about it, as I was lucky enough to do: he’s a good speaker, and summarizes both content and stories well. Either way, a serious issue for humanity, and one the wise should definitely be thinking about.
You can get a copy of Spillover here.