"The hand is a symbol of humanity, part of what makes us human -- the hand that carved the Parthenon, painted the hands of God and Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and wrote King Lear was the only hand that had known smallpox. That same hand had now given the disease to a monkey."
Preston presents the ethical debate regarding the testing of infectious diseases on animals as one of grave consequence. Although he presents both sides, he clearly disagrees with the practice. He advocates for a method of non-interference, fearing the consequence of defying the natural order by introducing germs to a species with which they previously had no contact.
"Doctors generally consider smallpox to be the worst human disease. It is thought to have killed more people than any other infectious pathogen, including the Black Death of the Middle Ages. Epidemiologists think that smallpox killed roughly one billion people during its last hundred years of activity on earth."
Preston outlines the major infectious diseases as we know them, explaining both their historical and contemporary significance. When discussing epidemics, we may find it difficult to correctly conceptualize the scope or threat of a given disease, but Preston uses both statistics and comparison to clarify and illustrate how dramatic the consequences of some of these diseases really are.
"My virologist friends are always bioengineering viruses. I could see a bioengineered strain of smallpox getting into a terrorist's hands, and that's my fear. And then when we get a terrorist attack with smallpox, and the smallpox doesn't respond to the vaccine, we're in trouble."
Preston is concerned with the instability of the study of infectious diseases. Such volatile substances can wipe out massive populations within days, yet they do not receive the utmost of care and protection in their handling. Preston outlines the threat of keeping these viruses in labs.
"Viruses are an essential part of nature. If all the viruses on the planet were to disappear, a global catastrophe would ensue, and the natural ecosystems of the earth would collapse in a spectacular crash under burgeoning populations of insects. Viruses are nature's crowd control, and a poxvirus can thin a crowd in a hurry."
The field of epidemiology is one of nuance. While seemingly undesirable, viruses actually help preserve the delicate balance of life and death on earth. Without them, ecosystems would quickly devolve into chaos, proving more harmful than the natural pervasiveness of the viruses.
