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Secret Agents: The Menace of Emerging Infections
So you think modern medicine has the whole virus game figured out? Think again. And it's not even a question of "if" we'll be hit by some new and deadly disease?it's "when."
The war on germs is being fought on many fronts?from the skirmishes with disease-carrying mosquitoes that cross oceans hidden away in airline wheel wells to the high-profile battle against terrorists wielding deadly bioweapons. Today's bold headlines would have us believe that the biggest threat comes from bioterrorism. But don't underestimate Mother Nature, perhaps the most savage bioterrorist of all. Assisted by the increasing ease with which people?and the germs they carry?move across international borders, she's an effective force to be reckoned with, a key player on this battlefield. As author Madeline Drexler makes clear, we'd do best not to ignore her.
Human beings and the pathogens that attack them are crossing paths more and more frequently, particularly as modern life grows increasingly complex. Whatever the infectious agent may be, whether it's pandemic flu, foodborne illness, a debilitating disease carried far and wide by biting insects, or some new microbial horror we have yet to detect, keen surveillance and rapid response are really the only weapons in our arsenal.
Secret Agents looks at today's new and emerging infections?those that have increased in attack rate or geographic range, or threaten to do so?and tells the stories of scientists racing to catch up with invisible adversaries superior in both speed and guile. Each chapter focuses on a different foodborne pathogens, antibiotic resistance, animals and insectborne diseases, pandemic influenza, infectious causes of chronic disease, and bioterrorism, including the latest information on the public health threats posed by anthrax and diseases such as smallpox.
Based in part on material collected from the Forum on Emerging Infections hosted by the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., Secret Agents is ultimately as engaging as it is disturbing. Drexler's thorough survey of the field of infectious disease, supplemented by extensive interviews with today's top researchers, yields a compelling portrait of a world engaged in a clandestine war.
Emerging infections are among the many secret ties that bind the world into an organic whole. We know that infectious disease is an inescapable part of life, but we need to begin thinking globally and acting locally if we are to avoid the menace of a catastrophic outbreak of some new plague. Secret Agents sounds a clear and compelling call to take up arms against the organic predators among us.
The war on germs is being fought on many fronts?from the skirmishes with disease-carrying mosquitoes that cross oceans hidden away in airline wheel wells to the high-profile battle against terrorists wielding deadly bioweapons. Today's bold headlines would have us believe that the biggest threat comes from bioterrorism. But don't underestimate Mother Nature, perhaps the most savage bioterrorist of all. Assisted by the increasing ease with which people?and the germs they carry?move across international borders, she's an effective force to be reckoned with, a key player on this battlefield. As author Madeline Drexler makes clear, we'd do best not to ignore her.
Human beings and the pathogens that attack them are crossing paths more and more frequently, particularly as modern life grows increasingly complex. Whatever the infectious agent may be, whether it's pandemic flu, foodborne illness, a debilitating disease carried far and wide by biting insects, or some new microbial horror we have yet to detect, keen surveillance and rapid response are really the only weapons in our arsenal.
Secret Agents looks at today's new and emerging infections?those that have increased in attack rate or geographic range, or threaten to do so?and tells the stories of scientists racing to catch up with invisible adversaries superior in both speed and guile. Each chapter focuses on a different foodborne pathogens, antibiotic resistance, animals and insectborne diseases, pandemic influenza, infectious causes of chronic disease, and bioterrorism, including the latest information on the public health threats posed by anthrax and diseases such as smallpox.
Based in part on material collected from the Forum on Emerging Infections hosted by the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C., Secret Agents is ultimately as engaging as it is disturbing. Drexler's thorough survey of the field of infectious disease, supplemented by extensive interviews with today's top researchers, yields a compelling portrait of a world engaged in a clandestine war.
Emerging infections are among the many secret ties that bind the world into an organic whole. We know that infectious disease is an inescapable part of life, but we need to begin thinking globally and acting locally if we are to avoid the menace of a catastrophic outbreak of some new plague. Secret Agents sounds a clear and compelling call to take up arms against the organic predators among us.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published January 22, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 25, 2009
Extremely interesting but if you don't go into this one with some knowledge of medicine or virology you'll either skip the 'big words' and lose the meaning or you'll be bored to tears pretty quickly.
I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone who doesn't already have a background knowledge of the subject matter.
I find it fascinating - a fast and interesting read...so far.
Pages 137-139 should be required reading for every parent who has ever had a child troubled with a recurrent ear infection.
Oh, and yes...WASH YOUR HANDS and NEVER touch the door handle on a public restroom again!
Okay...well, now that I have finished it I have only to add that the last two chapters were somewhat boring because the author seemed to feel that it was needful to express her political beliefs through her writing.
As she well-stated, the book can never truly be finished on the subject of germs and diseases because they keep evolving. It would have been better to end it there instead of becoming politically verbose.
A good read and interesting...just forget the last two chapters!
I wouldn't recommend this one to anyone who doesn't already have a background knowledge of the subject matter.
I find it fascinating - a fast and interesting read...so far.
Pages 137-139 should be required reading for every parent who has ever had a child troubled with a recurrent ear infection.
Oh, and yes...WASH YOUR HANDS and NEVER touch the door handle on a public restroom again!
Okay...well, now that I have finished it I have only to add that the last two chapters were somewhat boring because the author seemed to feel that it was needful to express her political beliefs through her writing.
As she well-stated, the book can never truly be finished on the subject of germs and diseases because they keep evolving. It would have been better to end it there instead of becoming politically verbose.
A good read and interesting...just forget the last two chapters!
December 18, 2013
I'm teaching a microbiology class in January, and decided I wanted to read up on this field. It's been a while since I read Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague. I have the textbook for this class which I'm reading now, but I enjoy input like Drexler's because they usually have interesting facts to share with my students at the same time. Drexler wrote this book in 2002, shortly after the anthrax terroristic occurence that happened here in the U.S. Because this was written before they figured out who actually released that anthrax in the U.S. Postal System, it was interesting to read Drexler's pointing out that there was deep concern that not just foreign terrorists would and could create bioweapons, but that dissatisfied/disgruntled employees of U.S. government entities could possibly do the same thing. This was prescient, since this is exactly what happened in this case...Bruce Ivins was a scientist who worked at Fort Detrick (the U.S. Bioweapons labs) who had mental problems. I was thinking they should update the bioweapons chapter in this book to include all the new information about this particular case.
The book was pretty good about the science information. I'm sure there were some mistakes in the book because the author was a medical science reporter, not a scientist. There were obviously some things that should have been researched better than they were. But on the whole, for a person interested in learning about how germs are getting the better of us, how antibiotic resistance is gaining an upper hand, how vaccines work, why new diseases are coming into the U.S. like West Nile, etc. this is not a bad book to read. It keeps the reader interested, which a textbook will not. And she gives a good bibliography with other ideas for books to read (though this is 12 years old and things have changed a lot in the field in just these few years).
The book was pretty good about the science information. I'm sure there were some mistakes in the book because the author was a medical science reporter, not a scientist. There were obviously some things that should have been researched better than they were. But on the whole, for a person interested in learning about how germs are getting the better of us, how antibiotic resistance is gaining an upper hand, how vaccines work, why new diseases are coming into the U.S. like West Nile, etc. this is not a bad book to read. It keeps the reader interested, which a textbook will not. And she gives a good bibliography with other ideas for books to read (though this is 12 years old and things have changed a lot in the field in just these few years).
October 23, 2008
I only reccomend this to non OCD people who can resist the urge to scrub their hands till their skin comes off. This is an easy read with lucid language that will scare the crap out of you!
September 9, 2010
More epidemiology than microbiology; very interesting subject but not fond of the writing. The narrative wavered from textbook-like, general explanations to case studies to histories to policy. The author makes many open-ending statements without further elaboration, uses cliches in lieu of explanation, and favors pursuing sensationalism in her narrative to illustrating scientific concepts. Reads like an expanded news article with much scientific jargon, the meaning of which is often not expanded. Enjoyed when author hit her mark expanding on specific cases, when she illustrated histories and breakthroughs, and when explains the microbiology; particularly liked "The Once and Future Pandemic" and "Superbugs" chapters.
June 28, 2017
We live in tandem with bacteria and viruses (and other organisms) that both help us and make us deathly sick at times. Humans have evolved along with these organisms, but we understand so little about them. Scientists who research them are woefully underfunded even though every single one of us is affected. There are many folks who shortsightedly are angered when 1% of the countries budget is used to help immunization and infectious disease programs abroad. Other than a humanitarian thing to do, these programs keep epidemics at bay that would come to our shores via plane, boat, and many other conveyances. Those people in other countries that you help get and stay healthy can be the next market you sell your goods in. Highly recommend reading this book.
September 1, 2012
Fascinating book about the scourge of various types of common maladies, including West Nile Virus, and what the latest research tell us about them. Author is a former science writer for The Boston Globe.
October 16, 2016
I liked this book, especially the chapters on anti-microbial resistance and bio-terrorism, but it was published in 2002 much of the material is out of date. It would be great if Drexler could update her work and include more recent info.
January 13, 2010
Fabulous and scary accounts of emerging infectious diseases.
This is one of my favorite topics, so if you have any recently published works to recommend, please shout!
This is one of my favorite topics, so if you have any recently published works to recommend, please shout!
April 2, 2012
one thing is clear, you cannot hide or escape forever ......
January 25, 2015
It contains interesting information but written more scholarly and less flowing and stimulating .
May 10, 2020
This is well-written, but in a bio-thriller style with "clever" viruses lurking in the shadows waiting to attack humanity. This is disappointing because the book starts off with a great quote from Zinsser about how epidemics happen when you have big social disturbances like war. But then the author abandons this viewpoint for a narrow germs-only focus, which, as noted in the book, fails to explain stuff like why the 1918 flu pandemic was so severe.
February 25, 2021
Even though this book is over 20 years old, its message holds. Emerging infections can take us all out.
In this book Drexler reviews the state-of-the-art science on food poisoning, superbugs, pandemics, and bioterror. At the time of this writing AIDS was still a huge threat worldwide. Treatments have since changed that trajectory for the better. Anthrax was on everyone's mind right after 9/11, and it still should be.
Drexler ends with a concern about the lack of funding and interest in public health in this country and others, and calls for a change in thinking and emphasis. There are heroes in the book, public health heroes, and we should acknowledge them and learn from them. Even more importantly, we need plans. We need plans that spell out how to manage pandemics, food scares, bioterror attacks.
In this book Drexler reviews the state-of-the-art science on food poisoning, superbugs, pandemics, and bioterror. At the time of this writing AIDS was still a huge threat worldwide. Treatments have since changed that trajectory for the better. Anthrax was on everyone's mind right after 9/11, and it still should be.
Drexler ends with a concern about the lack of funding and interest in public health in this country and others, and calls for a change in thinking and emphasis. There are heroes in the book, public health heroes, and we should acknowledge them and learn from them. Even more importantly, we need plans. We need plans that spell out how to manage pandemics, food scares, bioterror attacks.
September 7, 2023
This is an engaging, easy to read foray into the fearsome world of disease-causing microbes. Many contrasting cases are covered like true crime episodes. These cases include West Nile viral encephalitis that occurred in the New York metropolitan area during the late 1990s and food borne illnesses. The latter goes from the E. Coli fast food outbreaks of several years before to non-meat cases caused by picker laborers not treated like the food handlers that they are. Also explored in the chain from farm to grocery is the over-reliance on antibiotics in our feed stock. Then, there is the over-prescription of anti-biotics for humans and the drug-resistant monster bugs this encourages. There is much about the lingering threat from diseases arising from the mixtures of humans and animals and wet markets in China (foreshadowing COVID-19) as well as bio-terrorism and the basic easy of movement of threats in the modern, connected globe.
One interesting tidbit was that authorities gather reports of crow die-offs as the scavenging animals are so robust that anything that can kill enough of them to draw attention should be investigated.
One interesting tidbit was that authorities gather reports of crow die-offs as the scavenging animals are so robust that anything that can kill enough of them to draw attention should be investigated.
July 10, 2019
Well worth reading. Though published in 2002, the issues are still current and, in fact, probably worse now. Most of the topics I already knew about, but I learned many more fascinating details.
I am now eager to read her book "Emerging Epidemics" which was published in 2009 and should be a bit more up to date.
I am now eager to read her book "Emerging Epidemics" which was published in 2009 and should be a bit more up to date.
September 2, 2023
My full review is on Secret Agents: The Menace of Emerging Infections. This edition has a two-page afterword by the author which adds nothing substantial.
April 27, 2023
3.5 rounded up. Depressing to read the future hopefulness of 2003 from the post-covid reality of unpreparedness.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews