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Timebomb : The Global Epidemic of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
"A chilling account of... the global resurgence of this disease..."-- The New York Times "Tuberculosis--a nineteenth century disease--has come back with a vengeance... Timebomb is the extraordinary story of courage and cowardice in confronting the global TB epidemic."--Donna E. Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services, President of the University of Miami
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 7, 2019
I loved this book because explains the way we treat TB and why in terms I could understand without a science background, but not “dumbed down”. I’d highly recommend this to anyone who had/has the illness if you want to understand why treatment is do long, diagnostics take so long, etc. It also explains DOT really well and why it’s the standard - and what happens when it isn’t.
August 5, 2024
A warning about the world's oldest and most deadly infectious disease, TB. And it has never gone away. Sadly, humans are not responding to the threat with sufficient vigor.
August 21, 2015
A more accurate title for this book would be, "Timebomb: Russia is the Root of All Evil and Why I am a Wise and Highly Credentialed Expert."
Despite the use of the word "global" in this title, the majority of this book is spent explaining why Russia a terrible country with outdated medical practices who refuses to listen the knowledge of the far superior U.S. tuberculosis practices. Time and time again, rather than working with Russian physicians and politicians to truly understand why Russians do things the way they do, the emphasis is on forcing our medical practices down the throats of all Russian doctors. Indeed, the true agenda of this book seems to be Reichman's frustration that Russia turned down a World Bank loan intended to fight TB in Russia.
Reichman writes, "Concerned about the lack of progress that may have been holding up the loan...I wrote to the minister of health, pointing out the inadequacy of the traditional Russian methods, which contradicted World Health Organization guidelines" (207).
Under what principle of public health could an American physician (who takes numerous opportunities to highlight his illustrious positions, his publications, and his well-connected friends) POSSIBLY think this is an effective way to convince a country they're going about TB the wrong way? Is it possible, perhaps, that a country might take offense from someone swooping in to tell them a.) they're wrong b.) everyone else thinks they're wrong, too? Would it be perhaps better to work in a partnership, to take the time to understand why people think the way they do, and move forward from there?
It's interesting to note that Reichman keeps insisting this is a "global" problem, a "global" threat, and yet mentions only two countries - Russia and the U.S. The book's solitary appendix lists TWENTY TWO countries considered to have a "high burden of multi-drug resistant TB" - and yet, after reading this, the reader is easily convinced that the problem is solely Russia's, and that if Russia would just pull itself out of the cold war mentality and shape up, everything would be rosy. This book would work much better as an anti-Russia propaganda piece for politicians to hand out to their constituents than it would giving a nuanced perspective of MDR-TB.
I also dislike the condescension Reichman holds towards American patients with MDR-TB. Despite claiming that outreach workers take every precaution to be a part of the community and not judge, Reichman's tone makes it clear that he himself thinks TB really is a problem mainly for homeless people, drug users, etc., and they should really just educate themselves and stop being so problematic.
I'm giving this book two stars because, yes, TB, especially MDR-TB, needs more attention and there's simply not a lot of books about this topic. However, for Reichman, this appears a political rant and a chance to pat himself on the back for all the good work he's done fighting TB. It also lacks SIGNIFICANT scientific nuance and fails to properly or thoroughly explain the science behind the bacteria or the current problem with treatment regimens. It dehumanizes the people actually suffering from TB.
If you're interested in TB, this is worth a read, but read it with a bucket of salt and make sure to check out many other additional resources. I highly recommend this article that describes a patient's struggle with drug resistant tuberculosis. It has everything that Reichman lacks.
Despite the use of the word "global" in this title, the majority of this book is spent explaining why Russia a terrible country with outdated medical practices who refuses to listen the knowledge of the far superior U.S. tuberculosis practices. Time and time again, rather than working with Russian physicians and politicians to truly understand why Russians do things the way they do, the emphasis is on forcing our medical practices down the throats of all Russian doctors. Indeed, the true agenda of this book seems to be Reichman's frustration that Russia turned down a World Bank loan intended to fight TB in Russia.
Reichman writes, "Concerned about the lack of progress that may have been holding up the loan...I wrote to the minister of health, pointing out the inadequacy of the traditional Russian methods, which contradicted World Health Organization guidelines" (207).
Under what principle of public health could an American physician (who takes numerous opportunities to highlight his illustrious positions, his publications, and his well-connected friends) POSSIBLY think this is an effective way to convince a country they're going about TB the wrong way? Is it possible, perhaps, that a country might take offense from someone swooping in to tell them a.) they're wrong b.) everyone else thinks they're wrong, too? Would it be perhaps better to work in a partnership, to take the time to understand why people think the way they do, and move forward from there?
It's interesting to note that Reichman keeps insisting this is a "global" problem, a "global" threat, and yet mentions only two countries - Russia and the U.S. The book's solitary appendix lists TWENTY TWO countries considered to have a "high burden of multi-drug resistant TB" - and yet, after reading this, the reader is easily convinced that the problem is solely Russia's, and that if Russia would just pull itself out of the cold war mentality and shape up, everything would be rosy. This book would work much better as an anti-Russia propaganda piece for politicians to hand out to their constituents than it would giving a nuanced perspective of MDR-TB.
I also dislike the condescension Reichman holds towards American patients with MDR-TB. Despite claiming that outreach workers take every precaution to be a part of the community and not judge, Reichman's tone makes it clear that he himself thinks TB really is a problem mainly for homeless people, drug users, etc., and they should really just educate themselves and stop being so problematic.
I'm giving this book two stars because, yes, TB, especially MDR-TB, needs more attention and there's simply not a lot of books about this topic. However, for Reichman, this appears a political rant and a chance to pat himself on the back for all the good work he's done fighting TB. It also lacks SIGNIFICANT scientific nuance and fails to properly or thoroughly explain the science behind the bacteria or the current problem with treatment regimens. It dehumanizes the people actually suffering from TB.
If you're interested in TB, this is worth a read, but read it with a bucket of salt and make sure to check out many other additional resources. I highly recommend this article that describes a patient's struggle with drug resistant tuberculosis. It has everything that Reichman lacks.
January 1, 2011
Surprisingly interesting reading. A little obsessively focused on Russia and New York, because of the author's personal involvement there, but it's a great story and superinformative. I learned plenty of stuff about TB from this book that I managed not to pick up in several months of working with TB professionals.
Notes:
80% of Russian prisoners are TST+. Has there been an epidemiological study to determine whether protective factors can be identified for the remaining 20%? Is it just a question of exposure and chance, or is there something else (genetics or environmental/behavioral) going on?
Dick Fluck put together a yearlong interdisciplinary seminar on TB. See pg 196-7 of Timebomb.
Notes:
80% of Russian prisoners are TST+. Has there been an epidemiological study to determine whether protective factors can be identified for the remaining 20%? Is it just a question of exposure and chance, or is there something else (genetics or environmental/behavioral) going on?
Dick Fluck put together a yearlong interdisciplinary seminar on TB. See pg 196-7 of Timebomb.
January 28, 2008
Most people don't realize that TB has always been here in the U.S.
January 30, 2009
Made me understand the pressing nature of TB.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews