Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs

by Michael T. Osterholm PhD, MPH, Mark Olshaker

Overview

A leading epidemiologist shares his "powerful and necessary" stories from the front lines of our war on infectious diseases and explains how to prepare for global epidemics (Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone).


Unlike natural disasters, whose destruction is concentrated in a limited area over a period of days, and illnesses, which have devastating effects but are limited to individuals and their families, infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a grinding halt.

In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics nearly inevitable. And as outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, MERS, and Zika have demonstrated, we are woefully underprepared to deal with the fallout. So what can — and must — we do in order to protect ourselves from mankind's deadliest enemy?

Drawing on the latest medical science, case studies, policy research, and hard-earned epidemiological lessons, Deadliest Enemy explores the resources and programs we need to develop if we are to keep ourselves safe from infectious disease. The authors show how we could wake up to a reality in which many antibiotics no longer cure, bioterror is a certainty, and the threat of a disastrous influenza or coronavirus pandemic looms ever larger. Only by understanding the challenges we face can we prevent the unthinkable from becoming the inevitable.


Deadliest Enemy is high scientific drama, a chronicle of medical mystery and discovery, a reality check, and a practical plan of action.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316343695
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	03/14/2017
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,122,673
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Dr. Michael Osterholm is Regents Professor, McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health, and the founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. An internationally renowned epidemiologist, he has been at the forefront of public health preparedness, has led many outbreak investigations of international importance, and advises world leaders on the ever-growing list of microbial threats.

Mark Olshaker is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and a New York Times #1 bestselling author of five novels and ten books of nonfiction. His books with FBI profiling pioneer John Douglas have sold millions of copies and offer a unique and intriguing perspective into behavioral science and criminal investigative analysis.

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Chapter 1 Black Swans and Red Alerts 7

Chapter 2 Annals of Public Health 21

Chapter 3 White Coats and Worn Shoes 30

Chapter 4 The Threat Matrix 49

Chapter 5 The Natural History of Germs 57

Chapter 6 The New World Order 64

Chapter 7 Means of Transmission: Bats, Bugs, Lungs, and Penises 72

Chapter 8 Vaccines: The Sharpest Arrow in Our Quiver 80

Chapter 9 Malaria, AIDS, and TB: Lest We Forget 98

Chapter 10 Gain of Function and Dual Use: The Frankenstein Scenario 111

Chapter 11 Bioterror: Opening Pandora's Box 125

Chapter 12 Ebola: Out of Africa 144

Chapter 13 SARS and MERS: Harbingers of Things to Come 159

Chapter 14 Mosquitoes: Public Health Enemy Number One 178

Chapter 15 Zika: Expecting the Unexpected 205

Chapter 16 Antimicrobials: The Tragedy of the Commons 215

Chapter 17 Fighting the Resistance 237

Chapter 18 Influenza: The King of Infectious Diseases 254

Chapter 19 Pandemic: From Unspeakable to Inevitable 268

Chapter 20 Taking Influenza off the Table 286

Chapter 21 Battle Flan for Survival 299

Acknowledgments 321

Index 327

What People are Saying About This

author of The Hot Zone and The Demon in the Freeze - Richard Preston

"Michael Osterholm is one of the best epidemiologists—hunters of infectious diseases—of our time. When Osterholm tells us that the potential for global pandemics is a life-or-death issue for every person on the planet, we need to listen. Deadliest Enemy is a powerful and necessary book that looks at the threat of emerging diseases with clarity and realism, and offers us not just fear but plans."

CNN's National Security Analyst and author of United States of Jihad - Peter Bergen

"Deadliest Enemy is a lucid and concise account of how the battle against deadly germs is in many ways the most important war of all. Deadliest Enemy deftly melds authoritative science with a gripping narrative to tell what is arguably the most important story of our era."

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
Infectious disease remains humankind’s deadliest enemy and the future looks bleak, according to epidemiologist Osterholm and documentarian Olshaker. They lead with a dismal introduction on the threat of epidemics before delivering an absorbing account of how epidemiologists work and a disturbing description of what humans are doing to keep them in business. In the book’s early chapters, the authors relate how epidemiologists have dealt with previous epidemics (AIDS, Ebola, SARS) and achieved a few triumphs (against smallpox and toxic shock), but they largely look ahead. Expanding populations are wiping out jungles and eating its wildlife, encountering new microorganisms and animal-borne diseases in addition to the old ones. Global warming is a bonanza for mosquito-borne infections such as malaria, dengue, and yellow fever. Influenza—from birds and domestic animals—produced the 20th century’s worst epidemic, and humans are more vulnerable to it today. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are poised to spur a looming disaster, with superbugs heralding a “postantibiotic” era within decades. This is a convincing call to arms, among the best of a stream of similar warnings published recently. Urging political leaders to pay greater attention, the authors agree with prior warnings that matters will get worse without vastly more planning, research, and money. Agent: Frank Weimann, Folio Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Michael Osterholm is one of the best epidemiologists -- hunters of infectious diseases -- of our time. When Osterholm tells us that the potential for global pandemics is a life-or-death issue for every person on the planet, we need to listen. Deadliest Enemy is a powerful and necessary book that looks at the threat of emerging diseases with clarity and realism, and offers us not just fear but plans."—Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone and The Demon in the Freezer

"This book will change the way you think. It is clear, well written, and has a narrative drive provided by a subtext worthy of Stephen King. It is also based on solid science--in fact, I wish the science weren't so solid, so I could dismiss its conclusions. If enough people--or the right people--read it, it will do what few books can do: it will save many, many lives."
—John M. Barry, author of The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History and Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America

"Osterholm and Olshaker calmly show us that Mother Nature is the 'greatest bioterrorist of them all.' Marshaling solid scientific evidence, they question why we have spent billions on the 'war on terror' and virtually nothing for an inevitable calamity that will kill millions. This stunning book is a clarion call to mount a Manhattan Project 2.0 that would prepare for the coming global pandemic. Someone should listen."—Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and coauthor of American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer

"As a former governor responsible for the welfare and health of my state, and a former United States Senator concerned with national security, I applaud Deadliest Enemy as a chilling and important wakeup call. Not only is it a fascinating human story and medical detective drama, it lays out the great public health challenges facing humanity and the actions that need to be initiated or enhanced to avert their life or death consequences."—Bob Graham, former Governor of Florida, U.S. Senator and Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee

"Dr. Michael Osterholm is 'the Paul Revere of the Germ War.' To those of us who have peered over the horizon and seen the enemy, his work is heroic and critical. So I am extremely gratified that he and Mark Olshaker are now sharing that vital knowledge and insight in their compelling new book, Deadliest Enemy."—Michael Leavitt, former Governor of Utah, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Secretary of Health and Human Services

From the Publisher

02/15/2017
In the wake of recent outbreaks, including Ebola, MERS, and Zika, it seems important to be more aware of diseases and how they spread in order to combat hysteria. Coauthors Osterholm (McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair, public health, Univ. of Minnesota) and Olshaker, a documentary filmmaker, argue that whatever can be done to prevent the spread of these infectious diseases must be done, and that it is far more important to be proactive rather than reactive when fighting such illnesses. Diseases are also discussed in terms of how they are spread, whether it's through the water supply or by pests such as mosquitoes. An entire educational chapter about mosquitoes and their role in the advancement of several major diseases is informative. This book covers both ancient and recent epidemics throughout the world, using real cases from history and Osterholm's own experiences as examples to illustrate his point. Some illnesses are expected, including the aforementioned Zika, and others less so, including a very interesting chapter on Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) that sheds light on the tampon industry and just how dangerous TSS can be. VERDICT Anyone concerned about recent medical crises will want to pick up this clearly written, compellingly readable work. [See Prepub Alert, 9/19/16.]—Caitlin Kenney, Niagara Falls P.L, NY

Library Journal

2017-01-10
Think the Zika virus and Ebola are bad? As a renowned epidemiologist suggests, those are just previews of coming attractions.Long ago nicknamed "Bad News Mike" for his habit of bringing gloomy tidings from the germ front, Osterholm (Public Health/Univ. of Minnesota; co-author: Living Terrors: What America Needs to Know to Survive the Coming Bioterrorist Catastrophe, 2000) opens with the grim thought that we humans are not necessarily well-prepared to analyze the world of disease that surrounds us. For various reasons, a few cases of Zika make much more news than the far more devastating and widespread dengue virus, which has killed many more people than Zika "with hardly a blip on the public radar." Therefore, in terms of policy, we are not being the most rational actors when we spend $1 billion on an HIV vaccine but only $35 million to $40 million on influenza vaccines; as the author predicts, the next major pandemic "is most likely to come in the form of a deadly influenza strain." Writing in clear if sometimes-belabored prose, Osterholm, with the assistance of Olshaker, looks at some of the worst of the bad actors, showing the economic and social effects of various diseases—effects that may pale compared to his closing scenario, which sets one of those flus in motion and watches as it ravages the world, causing not just mass death, but also the collapses of infrastructure, stock markets, and pretty much civilization itself. Even so, there's some hope in Osterholm's musings, since, he cheerfully remarks, in such a scenario we still wouldn't outdo the devastation of the Black Death of medieval times. Of course, there's always the possibility that Ebola can morph into being transmitted respiratorily, a frightening prospect. A well-rendered work of popular science. If you don't emerge from it as the neighborhood expert on the flu, you skipped a chapter or two. If you emerge unworried, you missed the point.

Kirkus Reviews