The New Killer Diseases

April 28, 2003
Anthrax, West Nile virus, the threat of smallpox as terrorist weapon and the sudden appearance of SARS have raised concerns about the ability of the public health system to address outbreaks of infectious diseases. In fast-paced science reporting that is part detective story and part thriller, immunologist Levy and Scientific American contributing editor Fischetti conduct readers through a terrifying landscape where mutant bacteria and viruses run amok. The writers examine a range of bacterial and viral threats, from mad cow disease and influenza to diseases once nearly eradicated but now on the rise, like tuberculosis. Levy and Fischetti effectively recount the distressing stories of patients who have suffered, and died, from an unknown or medicine-resistant pathogen, such as the variant of E. coli
that killed three-year-old Brianna Kriefall after she ate some watermelon from a salad bar at a restaurant. Levy and Fischetti argue that various new forms of diseases are easily introduced in our world of easy travel between countries and of the lax regulatory policies on imported foods. In addition, they contend, the overuse of antibiotics creates drug-resistant "superbugs." Yet the book's militaristic language and alarmist tone ("The human race is in the midst of an escalating biological war against an army of microscopic foes") resemble the scare tactics of political and military propaganda. Agent, Jill Kneerim. (July)Forecast:The sudden appearance of SARS should make promoting this a snap, and the success of Judith Miller, William Broad and Stephen Engelberg's more measured
Germs and Laurie Garrett's
Betrayal of Trust have paved the way for readers.