E-Book Overview
The story of viruses and humanity is a story of fear and ignorance, of grief and heartbreak, and of great bravery and sacrifice. Michael Oldstone tells all these stories as he illuminates the history of the devastating diseases that have tormented humanity, focusing mostly on the most famous viruses. Oldstone begins with smallpox, polio, and measles. Nearly 300 million people were killed by smallpox in this century alone and the author presents a vivid account of the long campaign to eradicate this lethal killer. Oldstone then describes the fascinating viruses that have captured headlines in more recent years: Ebola, Hantavirus, mad cow disease (a frightening illness made worse by government mishandling and secrecy), and, of course, AIDS. And he tells us of the many scientists watching and waiting even now for the next great plague, monitoring influenza strains to see whether the deadly variant from 1918--a viral strain that killed over 20 million people in 1918-1919--will make a comeback. For this revised edition, Oldstone includes discussions of new viruses like SARS, bird flu, virally caused cancers, chronic wasting disease, and West Nile, and fully updates the original text with new findings on particular viruses. Viruses, Plagues, and History paints a sweeping portrait of humanity's long-standing conflict with our unseen viral enemies. Oldstone's book is a vivid history of a fascinating field, and a highly reliable dispatch from an eminent researcher on the front line of this ongoing campaign.
E-Book Content
VIRUSES, PLAGUES, AND H I S TO RY
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V I RU S E S, P L AG U E S, A N D H I S TO RY Past, Present, and Future
M I C H A E L B. A . O L D S TO N E Revised and Updated Edition
1 2010
1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
c 2010 by Michael B. A. Oldstone Copyright Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Oldstone, Michael B. A. Viruses, plagues, and history : past, present, and future / by Michael B. A. Oldstone. — Rev. and updated ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-19-532731-1 1. Virus diseases—History. I. Title. RC114.5.O37 2010 616.9—dc22 2009003550
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
For Betsy, Jenny, Beau, and Chris and six sweethearts, Caroline Anne Aileen Elizabeth Madeleine Rose Faye Annastasia Raina Elizabeth Marilee Kate
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You need not fear the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the plague that stalks in the darkness. —91st Psalm
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P R E FA C E
M
y book, Viruses, Plagues, and History, is now modified to include three new plagues that play important roles in this twenty-first century. The first two are Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the first new plague of this century, and West Nile virus, a virus similar to yellow fever virus in bei