The Coming Plague entails an account of epidemics, particularly caused by human activities. The author, Laurie Garret, narrates the evolution and adaptation of microbes. Between 1962 and 1964, the outbreak of Hemorrhagic Fever was witnessed in Machupo, Bolivia. The disease was transmitted by mice. Medical doctors with diverse skills in their field helped in fighting the disease. The increase of the mice population was caused by a large number of infrastructures within the area. In the 1950s and 1960s, scientists embarked on a mission to eradicate all the infectious diseases. However, they did not succeed because of microbes mutated.
Germany experienced a viral infection called the Marburg virus that monkeys transmitted to humans. Garret also narrates about the mystery of some epidemic like yellow fever in Nigeria and meningitis in Brazil. Most of the countries in South America and Africa have experienced the outbreak of viral infections and other diseases that remain mysterious. Many countries world over are not prepared for epidemics. Garret blames the disruption of ecosystems by human actions for the rapid mutation of microbes. Despite the progress of medicine, humans still suffer from lethal outbreaks of diseases.
Garret calls for an ecological view of public health. Human actions sometimes undermine public health. To prepare for these epidemics, scientists need to come up with early warning systems to detect emerging pandemics. As well, people need to shun social and political aspects that can lead to epidemics. From past lessons, people need to take care of their environments to avoid the outbreak of epidemics.
