Spillover
Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic
by David Quammen, Cécile Dutheil de La Rochère, Eva Roques, Laurence Decréau, Pascal Picq · first published 2012
69% recommend31% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Readable science journalism on how animal viruses jump to humans, covering zoonotic spillover, its drivers, and why pandemics keep emerging; suits general readers curious about outbreaks and virology.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This work examines the emergence and causes of new diseases all over the world, describing a process called "spillover" where illness originates in wild animals before being passed to humans and discusses the potential for the next huge pandemic. 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 patt
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…but there are a wide variety of virus responses that show virulence and infectiousness aren't necessarily correlated. If anyone wants to read more about this I can't recommend highly enough the book Spillover by David Quammen, which was published in 2012, and covers zoonotic (animal-to-human transmission) viruses, including SARS. Reading the section on SARS made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It's…
on “In 4 US state prisons, 3,300 inmates test positive, 96% without symptoms” ↗https://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pan... Is a good and accessible read on the subject. Though it won't do anything good for your ability to sleep.
on “There are now 234 pregnant women in the US with confirmed Zika virus” ↗…shingles. DNA has a double helix which has error-correction and is more stable. However that makes it also physically larger and more complicated. RNA is small, sloppy, and cheap. Source of all this: Spillover, David Quammen: https://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pan..., it's a good & topical book, a little bleak but good. There's a discussion of exactly this about halfway through the book.…
on “L.A. Times to Furlough Workers as Ad Revenue ‘Nearly Eliminated’” ↗If you enjoyed this article, I strongly recommend the author's book (mentioned at the end - Spillover, by David Quammen). I am about half way through and finding it very interesting.
on “The Next Pandemic: Not if, but When” ↗Definitely, highly recommended book. Learned of it from Quammen's "Spillover"[0] (a great — if somewhat terrifying — book in its own right) mentioning it as a source in the AIDS chapter and it was a fantastic read. Note that Quammen released his own AIDS-history book this hear,…
on “We know the city where HIV first emerged” ↗I've re-read Spillover by David Quammen and would heartily recommend it to anybody interested in where these pandemics come from and why they are happening now. On a lighter note: Good Omens by Neil Gaiman.
on “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in 2021?” ↗…people: https://www.businessinsider.com/people-who-seemingly-predict... The fact it was a coronavirus coming over from animals was also highly predictable, given SARS and MERS. There is a fantastic book called Spillover by David Quammen which lays all this out and explains why it was virtually guaranteed to happen.
on “Ivermectin Didn’t Reduce Covid-19 Hospitalizations in Largest Trial to Date” ↗…to humans, and even, perhaps, bioweapons, all seem to be major threats. Those interested in reading more might check out: * Laurie Garrett's The Coming Plague http://amzn.to/2c9Vsoh * David Quammen's Spillover http://amzn.to/2cm4ONj Garrett's book is particularly good. I've not read a better summary of the political, economic, and social power disease will have over the next century.
on “The Evolution of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria” ↗…journalistic potboilers such as “Rats, Lice, and Men” and “Plagues and Peoples”. More seriously, David Quammen, given the background he gained in evolutionary biology from writing “Song of the Dodo”, in “Spillover” gives what’s probably the best elucidation of zoonotic pathogens. Previous zoonotic pathogenic outbreaks have killed more than probably all wars combined. Disruption of habitat by human colonization…
on “Mass hysteria is making coronavirus worse than it is” ↗There was nothing unpredictable about this. In 2013 I got handed a copy of a book called 'Spillover, Animal infections and the next pandemic' by David Quammen. It was pretty much a storyboard for how COVD-19 (and other) diseases come into play and spread around the world. Totally predictable, in excruciating…
on “The world should think better about catastrophic and existential risks” ↗…In History And Its Causes by Steven Pinker. Strong persuasive central thesis even if though I didn't agree with all his arguments. Very wide-ranging book with many ideas from philosophy and history. * Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen. Informative and scary book about zoonotic diseases. Like a non-fiction cross between the detective, horror and sci-fi genres. * The Long…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗Here is another one, Spillover, by David Quammen. Apologies for the ugly link. https://www.amazon.com/Spillover-Animal-Infections-Human-Pan...
on “Ask HN: How are you preparing for COVID-19 disruptions?” ↗David Quammen's book Spillover is informative about the role of animal infections and the pandemic.
on “Some experts suggest Omicron variant may have evolved in an animal host” ↗…that. We may never know for certain, but it is also still possible that the reservoir will one day be discovered, for some diseases it took many years to do so. Highly recommended book: 'David Quammen, Spillover'. Note the date it was written, read it and then you may see a bit more clearly why I don't think a lab leak should be the foremost candidate for this particular virus. The writing was on the wall for…
on “Covid Virus Wasn’t at Wuhan Lab Before Pandemic, U.S. Report Says” ↗For those interested, I would suggest checking out Spillover by David Quammen. It goes into detail on why eradicating/eliminating zoonotic diseases isn't really feasible without also eradicating the host populations. I stumbled onto it and read it early on during…
on “Malaria vaccine delivered by a mosquito bite” ↗