Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic [Hardcover]

David Quammen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0393066800 | ISBN-13: 978-0393066807 | Edition: 1

A Booklist Top 10 Science Book of 2012, a 2012 New York Times Book Review Notable Book, and a Daily Beast "Top 11 Book of 2012"

A masterpiece of science reporting that tracks the animal origins of emerging human diseases.

The emergence of strange new diseases is a frightening problem that seems to be getting worse. In this age of speedy travel, it threatens a worldwide pandemic. We hear news reports of Ebola, SARS, AIDS, and something called Hendra killing horses and people in Australia—but those reports miss the big truth that such phenomena are part of a single pattern. The bugs that transmit these diseases share one thing: they originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. David Quammen tracks this subject around the world. He recounts adventures in the field—netting bats in China, trapping monkeys in Bangladesh, stalking gorillas in the Congo—with the world’s leading disease scientists. In Spillover Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge, and he asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Exemplary science writer Quammen schools us in the fascinating if alarming facts about zoonotic diseases, animal infections that sicken humans, such as rabies, Ebola, influenza, and West Nile. Zoonoses can escalate rapidly into global pandemics when human-to-human transmission occurs, and Quammen wants us to understand disease dynamics and exactly what’s at stake. Drawing on the truly dramatic history of virology, he profiles brave and stubborn viral sleuths and recounts his own hair-raising field adventures, including helping capture large fruit bats in Bangladesh. Along the way, Quammen explains how devilishly difficult it is to trace the origins of a zoonosis and explicates the hidden process by which pathogens spill over from their respective reservoir hosts (water fowl, mosquitoes, pigs, bats, monkeys) and infect humans. We contract Lyme disease after it’s spread by black-legged ticks and white-footed mice, not white-tailed deer as commonly believed. The SARS epidemic involves China’s wild flavor trend and the eating of civets. Quammen’s revelatory, far-reaching investigation into AIDS begins in 1908 with a bloody encounter between a hunter and a chimpanzee in Cameroon. Zoonotic diseases are now on the rise due to our increasing population, deforestation, fragmented ecosystems, and factory farming. Quammen spent six years on this vital, in-depth tour de force in the hope that knowledge will engender preparedness. An essential work. --Donna Seaman

Review

“This is a frightening and fascinating masterpiece of science reporting that reads like a detective story. David Quammen takes us on a quest to understand AIDS, Ebola, and other diseases that share a frightening commonality: they all jumped from wild animals to humans. By explaining this growing trend, Quammen not only provides a warning about the diseases we will face in the future, he also causes us to reflect on our place as humans in the earth's ecosystem.” (Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs)

“Starred review. ...a frightening but critically important book for anyone interested in learning about the prospects of the world’s next major pandemic.” (Publishers Weekly)

“David Quammen might be my favorite living science writer: amiable, erudite, understated, incredibly funny, profoundly humane. The best of his books, The Song of the Dodo, renders the relatively arcane field of island biogeography as gripping as a thriller. That bodes well for his new book, whose subject really is thriller-worthy: how deadly diseases (AIDS, SARS, Ebola) make the leap from animals to humans, and how, where, and when the next pandemic might emerge.” (Kathryn Schulz - New York Magazine)

“That [Quammen] hasn’t won a nonfiction National Book Award or Pulitzer Prize is an embarrassment.” (Dwight Garner - The New York Times)

“David Quammen [is] one of that rare breed of science journalists who blend exploration with a talent for synthesis and storytelling.” (Nathan Wolfe - Nature)

“Starred review. A wonderful, eye-opening account of humans versus disease.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Starred review. An essential work.” (Booklist)

“[Spillover is] David Quammen’s absorbing, lively and, yes, occasionally gory trek through the animal origins of emerging human diseases.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

“As page turning as Richard Preston’s The Hot Zone… [Quammen is] one of the best science writers.” (Seattle Times)

“[Spillover] delivers news from the front lines of public health. It makes clear that animal diseases are inseparable from us because we are inseparable from the natural world.” (Philadelphia Tribune)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 592 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (October 1, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393066800
• ISBN-13: 978-0393066807
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Medical Books > Administration & Medicine Economics > Public Health > Epidemiology
  • #23 in Books > Medical Books > Basic Sciences > Microbiology
  • #23 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Infectious Disease > Communicable Diseases

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 84 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping stories with good science September 30, 2012

By Rachael Ludwick

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

The jargon of diseases can be boring, tedious. There are a lot of acronyms and big words. Worse, we often don't know as much as we'd like -- and usually we aren't very certain of what we do know. Telling a good story given those constraints is hard. But Spillover repeatedly provides gripping stories that still impart a good understanding of what we know about zoonotic (animal-origin) diseases. Even better, the author ties disparate stories together to describe some general trend and possible causes for seemingly new infectious diseases. But I don't want to summarize the conclusions: I want you to go read it. You won't be bored and you'll learn a lot (most definitely even if you've read books like The Hot Zone or the Coming Plague).

Some other notes:
* The author has a less human-centric attitude and a lot of sympathy for the animals, like horses or apes, who sometimes are actually the first animal a disease spills over into only to later infect humans.
* He has a wry tone. When noting the euthanasia of a large number of monkeys (even ones likely not infected with a disease), he notes no humans were euthanized despite equal exposure.
* He provides full references. Some of those papers are quite readable by a non-expert such as this review ([...]) of the importance of bats as reservoirs for infectious diseases.
* The stories are often told from the perspective of the scientists trying to figure out what the heck is really going on. The author is also not afraid to explain when scientists just don't know -- and how they might figure it out more.
* The author went on several field collections where he might have been exposed to a disease being investigated....

If I had any criticisms I would have two:

* The author notes the problem of calling African hunted wild meat "bush meat" which has unsavory connotations to many Europeans and Americans despite Europeans and Americans also hunting wild animals for food. And then he still calls it that repeatedly for the rest of the book (hunted animals are a major source for new infections). I realize this makes it easier to read but it was a bit jarring.
* There is a long, imagined story in the chapters on the origin HIV that is, essentially, imagined entirely with details about a possible river fisherman who gets infected with HIV early on and brings it downstream to the (then) Belgian capitol of the Congo. Elsewhere in the book when the explanation for the origin of a disease required some imagination to fill in a plausible sequence of events, the imaginary stories were a lot less elaborate. I don't think the story detracts from the accuracy of the book: something like that had to have happened to explain the origin of HIV (specifically HIV-1). I was also perfectly entertained and learned a bit about the cultures in the region, but it stood out. It might annoy some so I note you can safely skip ahead when you hit it.

I call these two things out, but even so the book is still excellent. I have some interesting papers I want to read. I also feel I know more about how infectious diseases "work". Best of all, I am less fearful of them as well. Read more ›

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic September 29, 2012

By Thomas Jones

Format:Hardcover

I have a science background but not in the biological sciences. Over the years I have followed much of the discussions about HIV/AIDS, SARS, and other outbreaks of infectious diseases in the popular press without being able to put it all together. This book provides that overall view and a status report on our efforts to deal with this ongoing threat. In a few spots there may be more technical information than many may want but it is presented in a way that allows one to move past it without losing the thread of the discussion. The book provides a description of the work done by the professionals on the front line and challenges they face. This is an important subject that we all should all be aware of. The book is well worth reading.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "FRIGHTENING, GRIPPING, INTELLIGENT!" October 3, 2012

By Geraldine Ahearn TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Award Winning author David Quammen delivers a brilliant, informative presentation of different animals, explaining clearly in simple terms how a disease spills over from animal to human. Through compelling stories weaved together, the author gives a gripping account of new infectious diseases, different animals in relation to specific diseases, and fascinating science reporting of examinations conducted by scientists. In addition, information reported from extensive research is provided on apes, horses, bats and other animals. The author presents engaging stories as he writes with compassion and sympathy about different diseases and the dangers of spillover. Discussions about outbreaks of infectious diseases are provided, along with information on dealing with ongoing threats. It was extremely interesting to learn about the results of examinations, and progress made by the professionals as they face several challenges. It was also scary to ponder on the growing trend of diseases that spill from animal to human, a major concern is noted while contemplating on why these diseases emerge. Of course, the reader becomes curious about a new outbreak, which makes this intelligent presentation thought-provoking throughout. Interesting, Educational, and Highly Recommended to science lovers!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, Vital, Gripping Book October 6, 2012

By K. N. Walsh

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Quammen's writing is vivid yet measured, detailed yet gripping, and he possesses true talent as a narrative non-fiction writer. His ability to explain complex scientific ideas and processes in layman's terms is fantastic, and made this book such a joy to read. Though pandemic disease is often written about in ways that are hysterical and melodramatic, SPILLOVER is not a fear-mongering book.

I also deeply appreciated Quammen's awareness of the animals involved, and his respect and empathy for them. It's subtle but ever-present in his choice of language describing them.

I hope this book is assigned in high schools-- it was so inspiring it made me wish I could do my undergraduate schooling over again and become a scientist.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite among favorites October 9, 2012

By Philip Franklin

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

David Quammen has written his best book yet, and all of his non-fiction is great. He specializes in facts and details about the natural world combined with his personal take and his quirky humor. This book is fascinating and a great pleasure to read both for the content and for the attitude, which hooks the reader. Who knew that doctors once gave malaria to patients in order to relieve their syphilis symptoms? Visit a wet market in Hong Kong as you learn the facts about SARS. Let David Quammen be your guide to zoonoses.