Patient Zero: Solving the Mysteries of Deadly Epidemics

by Marilee Peters

Engrossing true stories of the pioneers of epidemiology who risked their lives to find the source of deadly diseases—now revised to include updated information and a new chapter on Covid-19.

More people have died in disease epidemics than in wars or other disasters, but the process of identifying these diseases and determining how they spread is often a terrifying gamble. Epidemiologists have been ignored, mocked, or silenced all while trying to protect the population and identify “patient zero”—the first person to have contracted the disease, and a key piece in solving the epidemic puzzle.

Patient Zero tracks the gripping tales of eight epidemics and pandemics—how they started, how they spread, and the fight to stop them. This revised edition combines a brand-new design with updated information and features diseases such as Spanish Influenza, Ebola, and AIDS, as well as a new chapter on Covid-19.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Middle Grade, Childrens, Medical, Disease

184 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2014

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patient Zero is an interesting and fun read suitable not only for children, but all ages. I loved the simple but fact filled way that each story was written and think that many kids would be fascinated by this book. The illustrations were cute and at times humorous.

The only thing I had a problem with was the format of the arc, which was atrocious and made it very hard to read, however that has no bearing in my rating.

Overall I think this children book definitely has the “cool” factor, and would make a great addition to any school library.

Buy, Borrow or Bin Verdict: Buy (Borrow for anyone over the age of 14, but for the intended audience still a Buy)


Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Alisha Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, hello there. And welcome to today's episode of "I really need to be more picky about my Netgalley requests". No, but seriously, I really do need to be more picky because the ones that only sound mildly interesting...are starting to be not even that. And that was one of the reasons I didn't really like Patient Zero.

Seriously, how do you make a book about deadly epidemics boring?! I have no idea, but this book was immensely boring. Despite the fact that it was written in a breezy, matter of fact way, this book ended up being incredibly dry. The only part that wasn't boring was the Typhoid Mary case, but I think that has more to do with the fact that Typhoid Mary was endlessly interesting as opposed to the book itself being interesting.

I also felt like the information given in Patient Zero was very surface-level. I felt like I could have learned all of this from Wikipedia and still not have missed anything. There are no new insights, no new opinions. I think had this been written by someone who A.) actually had a medical degree of some sort or B.) had a history with y'know history than this book would have been more insightful and more deep. Instead we just have vague snippets of epidemics as opposed to semi-full case files of diseases.

However, my absolute main gripe with Patient Zero were the drawings that were in the book. I find all of these cases super sad because although we have found cures for some of these diseases, the truth is that tons of people still died for that to happen. And I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but I found all of those drawings lacking in taste. While the book itself didn't have a somber slant to it, it still wasn't humorous at all. So trying to add "humorous" pictures (which weren't funny at all) just seem to mock the cases it's supposed to be highlighting.

So, I didn't really like Patient Zero. I give it two stars solely to its showcase of the Typhoid Mary case, but other than that I say skip it and either read more in-depth books about different epidemics, or read about it on Wikipedia.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book on my to-read list for years, thinking I might take it out to local middle schools when I do my library outreach visits. After COVID hit, it took me a year and a half to feel ready to read it.

But this was great! This edition covers the Plague, Cholera, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Spanish Flu, Ebola and AIDS. I hear that the 2021 edition adds a chapter on COVID, and I currently have that on hold to read before I take either edition out to schools. I appreciated the focus on the science and scientists that helped curb the effects of each pandemic. Overall, seeing all the times humanity's been through this gave me some amount of hope.

I learned a lot - for example, have you heard that Spanish Flu actually started in Kansas? The reason it's called Spanish Flu is because the USA censored anything that could be considered "bad news" about the war effort, so Spain was one of the only countries telling people it was even a thing. Gablah!

[Caleigh R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked and didn't like the book. I liked the book because it showed what happened during earlier pandemics. I didn't like it because I am not much of a history person.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't usually enjoy non-fiction, but this is a page-turner! I liked the layout and stories that added to the factual information. I only read the chapters that most interested me... but that's allowed when reading non-fiction, right?

[Ardae Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book in school gives a slight downgrade to it but, it's a good book. It talks about 7 of the most deadliest epidemics. It list The Great Plague, Cholera, AIDS and HIV, Typhoid, COVID-19, and Ebola. The great Plague came from the lack of cleaning in London. Then the epidemic stopped with a great fire. Cholera was caused by contaminated cesspool and harsh water conditions. It was solved by the new way of sewage treatment. AIDS started with HIV in which it takes 7 years of untreated HIV to become AIDS and it took a vaccine to stop the pandemic. Typhoid was caused by the lack of hygiene from a chef and the disease spreaded. It was also stopped by a vaccine and public hand washing systems. Ebola was passed down by the disease carrying off chimpanzees, bats, and pangolins. Stopped by Ebanga a antibody helped cure this disease. And COVID-19 started by a faulty lab test and resulted in a lab leak. The cure is still unknown and one of 2 epidemics we are in today.

[Welzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

No es un libro que pretenda exponer las grandes epidemias con detalle, desde el punto de vista epidemiológico o médico, sino que estamos ante un libro de divulgación destinado a un público joven, de ahí los graciosos dibujos o el colorido de las páginas. Por todo ello si bien habla de las grandes epidemias lo hace desde un punto de vista muy superficial y muy sesgado (visión centrípeta de un escritor estadounidense). Perfecto para un estudiante de la ESO y escaso para el resto de los lectores.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like to know to much about the books I am going to read. This can backfire when I select a book solely on the basis of the title....
This book is for young children. Very basic.
As an adult I would have to give it two star at best. As a children's book I am guessing a three star.

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great way for the young teen to grasp pandemics and what we learn from them. Enjoyable even if you are not a teen anymore;)

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO interesting! The book give a detailed account of several epidemics and pandemics, without being pedantic. The separate chapters each focus on a virus or disease, and the suspected or known origin of the disease.

Very good book.

[Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I personally loved a more personified approach to histroical facts and non fiction books in general, so the point of view for this type of book was refreshing. Worth a read if you enjoy non-fiction.

[Mars Q · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring for me tbh, but other nerdy people would enjoy. it's about viruses and stuff and their first victims or worst victims idk. had to read it for class

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
Patient Zero is a history of the field of epidemiology, or the study of diseases in a population. It takes the reader through seven different epidemics in history and details the disease, the scientists tracking and attempting to cure the disease, and gives the reader an introduction to a possible patient zero—the first person to get the disease. The seven epidemics include, the plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid, Spanish influenza, ebola, and AIDS.

Review:
First, let me start off by saying that the information in this book is very interesting. Peters does an impressive job introducing us to each of these epidemics and giving the reader facts about causes and potential causes for the epidemics. She highlights the scientist who begin tracking diseases in new ways and how their contributions helped expand the field of epidemiology. I found each of the histories interesting, and she humanizes the book by giving the reader examples of who patient zero might have been.

While the topic and the information was very interesting, I found the format of the book terribly distracting. You would be reading about the disease, and then in the middle of a sentence when you turn the page, you find yourself at an information side bar. The side bar is related, and yes interesting, but when you finish reading it you have to go back and re-read what you had been reading so you can continue when you left off. I found the placements of these to be poorly designed.

My other criticism of the book is that all of the illustrations are very cartoony. Since this is a book about science, it would have been nice if they had included actual pictures. For example, pictures of the scientists if available, pictures of the viruses under a microscope, etc. It would have made the book more credible and more useful in a classroom.

Overall:
Despite its flaws I found this book fascinating. I felt it engaged the reader and gave them a lot of good information about the field of epidemiology. I highly recommend this book to students who like science and are interested in medicine, or who just like history. The book had plenty of facts and they are presented in a way that isn’t dry or boring.

Cautions for Sensitive Readers:
Violence: None
Sex: None
Drugs: None
Language: None

[Kathleen Garber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. It’s designed for teens and young adults but I’m almost 38 and I learned a lot. I love children’s and teen nonfiction.

If you or your teen has questions about Covid-19 or other epidemics and pandemics that have happened in the past, this is the perfect book for that. It’s full of colour photos and side bars with important and interesting information.

Deadly Diseases and Plagues
The book teaches about Black Death, Cholera, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Spanish Influenza, Ebola, AIDS and COVID-19. These of course aren’t the only ones but they are the ones that affected large amounts of people and/or the whole world. In some cases, I knew about the original outbreaks but didn’t know about later ones. I had heard the term Typhoid Mary but didn’t know the actual story of her.

This book was originally published in 2014 but was updated for 2021 with information on COVID-19. It is current as of January 2021.

NOTE: The book is labelled for ages 10-14 but I would recommend 13 and up. There are scary discussions about some of the grosser and upsetting symptoms from these diseases.

Example: (WARNING: Gross words ahead. Read at your own risk.)

” The virus that had infected Mabalo was causing his internal organs to disintegrate into a soupy mess that seeped from his orifices and through his skin. “
– pg 113 Ebola

I received this book in exchange for an honest review

[Renae · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked part of the approach of Peters' book, which was provided in an e-galley from NetGalley.com, in exchange for an honest review.

Liked: The narrative approach Peters used, which let the reader get to know some of the key players personally, definitely made the history more real and accessible, less dry and pedantic. I applaud this part of her writing style for younger readers.

Disliked: For all of the valid, interesting, accurate information in the text, I was put off as a reader by the choice of illustrations for the text. These illustrations were, in my opinion, too cutesy. The book's content was serious and scientific--but I felt the clip-art-y, cartoony illustrations of cells, kids, and flasks undermined the content. This book would have been accessible to younger readers with more serious illustrations.

And Unfortunately:
The timing of this book's publication couldn't be helped. But its section on Ebola was promptly rendered out-of-date by the developments of late 2014 and 2015. While not a fault, it is worth noting and should be taken into account by readers.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

You know, I could've sworn I'd read this book before, but apparently I haven't. It's a short history of epidemiology, told through the stories of seven diseases that have plagued humanity, and aimed at preteens.

Now, this is a pretty neat idea for a book. Peters takes the plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhoid, Spanish flu, Ebola, and AIDS, and uses each epidemic to illustrate some period in the development of the science of epidemiology. For example, in the chapter on cholera she relates the famous episode of John Snow and the Broad Street pump, and the yellow fever chapter talks about how epidemiologists isolated the transmission method and protected against it.

The book is pretty interesting, but the layout leaves something to be desired: gigantic sidebars of information take up whole pages, and while they're interesting, they're somewhat loosely connected and can throw the reader out of the thread of the chapter. Also the illustrations are really cartoony and the language is a little young. Good for those of you with children interested in infectious diseases, but otherwise, meh.

[katyjanereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Very interesting read.
2. I liked the little tidbits of information throughout.
3. There is s good bibliography in the back for further reading.
4. I learned a lot about history as well as epidemics. I kept making my husband listen to what I was learning.
5. I found one typo. Just sayin'.
6. This book definitely makes me want to learn more.

[Karleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a middle-grade book, this is incredibly detailed but still easy enough for children at the middle-grade level to understand. I am blown away by the amount of knowledge that I learned in such a short amount of time. This book should be something that all children have to read to understand how we came to the conclusion of germs and how scientists go about trying to figure out what is causing people to be sick. History in general is incredibly important but the history of epidemics should be common knowledge by the time you are an adult. I feel like if this sort of information was taught in regular science classes or health classes maybe then we wouldn't have had such a blow-up when Covid19 happened. I applaud the author who took the time to research and gather all this material and make it understandable for people at a middle-grade level.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny thing. "Patient Zero" was a book club selection. I read this book and was impressed with how well the subject of infectious diseases was covered. The book appears to be for students in middle school. I thought how helpful it would be for these students to read this book and maybe explain infecious disease to some of their parents, especially those against vaccines.

To my surprise this was not the "Patient Zero" book that we were reading for book club. It was another book with the same name, but it was by authors Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen. So I have had the privilege of reading two books with the same title, about the same topic, both excellent books.

I hope every young person gets to read THIS version of the title.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patient Zero is an excellent introduction for middle-grade kids (all ages, really) to epidemics in general, the seven specific illnesses covered historically here, and the field of epidemiology. As an adult, I found there was a lot to learn in most areas. While I did know a fair bit about some of the areas covered, I did still find myself learning little bits of info throughout. The writing is fun and engaging. The book is well put together.

After this, I would happily read more from Marilee Peters, and I definitely want to learn more about some of the epidemics I didn't know much about. I would definitely recommend this book for basically anyone over the age of ten.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally read the original Patient Zero in 2018, but when I heard there was going to be an updated edition I was definitely excited to give it a re-read. Not only is there a new chapter on COVID-19, but all of the other chapters have been updated with current information that has been made available since it came out in 2014. It was enjoyable to reread and refresh my memory of historical and epidemiological details, and it does a good job of adding COVID-19 to the book as well. Just as I recommended it previously, I would definitely recommend the new edition for any readers over the age of ten.

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is recommended reading for local 7th-grade English Language Arts students. The subject is heavy with chapter after chapter of plagues and deadly illnesses. But the author approaches the topic with personal stories of victims as well as charting the courage of scientists tracking and finding cures for epidemics. The silver lining is that many of these epidemics are in the past, and I hope that reliance and trust in modern medicine and vaccines will continue to be part of our rights as Americans and global citizens.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book. I would recommend it because it was a great book about different sicknesses. The book was to find out who the Patient Zero was for that disease. It was an interesting book and I thought it was very different book but I really enjoyed it. It was a non-fiction and I usually do not read those type of books but this one I enjoyed and I would read it again just to understand and learn more.

[Melanie Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an easy-to-read interesting and informative book! I learned a ton of interesting things that I, as an educated 44 year old, did not know! I read the updated version which includes a chapter on Covid 19, and again, covers some info that I didn’t know (even though I lived through it). The author clearly notes that the Covid 19 info was current as of January 2021 and likely to change with more research.

[Ashley Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having gone through cancer and being recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Reading this book on conditions and diseases that affect the world reminds me of what we should treasure rather than take for granted. Both my dad, stepmother, brother, my 2 sisters, and my step-grandparents were covid-19 diagnosed after receiving the shots. While thus book is good to read, they should include all diseases that the world is battling.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book well researched, informative, easy to read. Author has a great voice. I’d love to see this book updated to include more recent epidemics and pandemics. The format was annoying because there were great snippets interspersed, but it was hard to follow the main text. Also, I think photographs, maps, and graphs would add value to the information.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it gives us the histories of how diseases were discovered and what people thought about how the diseases spread and reading about Mary and how she carried the diseases but did not feel sick and when people told her they thought she carried it she did not believe them and threatened them.I liked reading that people would isolate the people that did have a disease.

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is about different diseases and how they spread such as Cholera and Thyroid fever. My favorite character is Marry Mallon, she is my favorite because of how she reacted when the cop and doctor barged in her house and told her that she is a healthy carrier and she still kept on spreading the fever.

[Christy George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting material but written in such a way that it was extremely hard to teach. The format flipped between narrative, anecdotes, blurbs, and data, and the audio book just played straight through so we were constantly having to pause, take detours and get back on track which was so frustrating with kids who are really low in reading levels and stamina.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for middle school. Very topical and interesting. Covers a few major epidemics and how they were investigated. Provides a neat timeline of how epidemiology evolved as a practice and where many of the modern tools and tricks originated from.