Salvador Macip is head of the Mechanisms of Cancer and Ageing Laboratory in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Leicester and professor at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

'A timely, authoritative and reader-friendly overview of pandemics past and present. This broad and balanced account, which is devoid of Anglo-American bias, provides fascinating insights into the important events associated with, for example, the defeat of the last Inca Emperor Atahualpa, Chagas disease in Bolivia and the Mexican origin of the 2009 influenza pandemic, as well as explaining the latter’s malignant effects on our preparedness for COVID-19.'Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen'Well written and informative and relevant for this difficult era of covid.'British Society for the History of Medicine'An important book for understanding a world in which some of the greatest threats are invisible.'Climate & Capitalism'This authoritative overview of modern epidemics and the pathogens that cause them will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our world today.'Midwest Book Review'An excellent basis for class discussion about the history of epidemics, equity of resources, and COVID-19, providing many examples of needed improvements.'Choice

• Acknowledgements IntroductionAn ever-present dangerLet’s do our homeworkA tool for understanding the present and preparing for the futurePart I Sharing the World with Microorganisms1 Travel CompanionsThey were here firstPeaceful passengersThe dark sideA bit of terminologyBacteriaViruses: the smallest life form?Fungi: microscopic mushrooms2 The Story of a Never-Ending StruggleThe invisible hand behind thingsRats, fleas, and bacteriaThe ‘Spanish’ fluThe resuscitated virusSmallpox, a disease of the pastPoliomyelitis: next on the list?Cost in lives, cost in money3 Our ArsenalSimple but vitalThe immune systemThe next step forward: vaccinesCancer vaccinesThe papilloma vaccine, a controversial solutionThe danger of listening to the wrong peopleFuture challengesAntibiotics: the offensive beginsPowerful poisons or a sophisticated messaging system?Miracles with an expiry dateThe microbes of the futureResting on our laurelsThe antibiotics of the futureAntiviralsWho pays the bills?Control and prevention4 The Danger of Knowing Too MuchThe paradox: the more we research, the greater the dangerDangerous informationAnthraxBioterrorists in the USAThe return of smallpox?5 Forgotten Diseases and New DiseasesMeningitisCholeraWest Nile virusEbolaMarburg: the other serious haemorrhagic feverThe ‘forgotten’ diseasesChagas diseaseDengueHand, foot and mouth disease6 Coronaviruses and Future PandemicsCoronaviruses: the new plague?SARS: the coronaviruses enter the sceneMERS, or camel sicknessCOVID-19 changes everythingHow to stop the virusThe vaccine raceThe future of the pandemicWhat lies ahead for SARS-CoV-2Lessons from COVID-19: how to manage a crisisAnd the next pandemic?Where is the ‘supervirus’?How can we prevent the spread?Part II Major Modern Epidemics7 InfluenzaThe virus’s thousand facesThe killer coldA winter maladyA useful treatmentOne vaccine or many vaccines?The future of humanity depends on an eggThe danger of bird fluThe 2009 influenza pandemicDrugs and the race against timeEpidemic or pandemic?A change of hemispheresPrepare for the worstThe consequences of the pandemic8 AIDSAnother multifaceted virusThe African sicknessA scientists’ squabbleThe Nobel of discordThe silent infectionNecessary swift diagnosisA miraculous treatment … that doesn’t cureSide effectsThe virus becomes more dangerousTreatments for the futureAnd the famous vaccine?Defence is the best attackWhere does the money come from?Denialists: as dangerous as the virus9 TuberculosisKoch’s bacillus: an armoured microbeA problem that comes backThe threat of resistant tuberculosisNew treatments, old treatmentsAnother disease with no vaccineThe tuberculosis that comes from cows10 MalariaAll because of a mosquitoGoodwill is not enoughThe treatment and how to get it to people who need itHas the time of resistances come?The controversial SPf66 vaccineThe army is also researchingAgainst the insects: mosquito nets and genetic engineeringGlobal actionA tropical disease only?EpilogueGlossaryIndex

Salvador Macip is head of the Mechanisms of Cancer and Ageing Laboratory in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Leicester and professor at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

'A timely, authoritative and reader-friendly overview of pandemics past and present. This broad and balanced account, which is devoid of Anglo-American bias, provides fascinating insights into the important events associated with, for example, the defeat of the last Inca Emperor Atahualpa, Chagas disease in Bolivia and the Mexican origin of the 2009 influenza pandemic, as well as explaining the latter’s malignant effects on our preparedness for COVID-19.'Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen'Well written and informative and relevant for this difficult era of covid.'British Society for the History of Medicine'An important book for understanding a world in which some of the greatest threats are invisible.'Climate & Capitalism'This authoritative overview of modern epidemics and the pathogens that cause them will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our world today.'Midwest Book Review'An excellent basis for class discussion about the history of epidemics, equity of resources, and COVID-19, providing many examples of needed improvements.'Choice

• Acknowledgements IntroductionAn ever-present dangerLet’s do our homeworkA tool for understanding the present and preparing for the futurePart I Sharing the World with Microorganisms1 Travel CompanionsThey were here firstPeaceful passengersThe dark sideA bit of terminologyBacteriaViruses: the smallest life form?Fungi: microscopic mushrooms2 The Story of a Never-Ending StruggleThe invisible hand behind thingsRats, fleas, and bacteriaThe ‘Spanish’ fluThe resuscitated virusSmallpox, a disease of the pastPoliomyelitis: next on the list?Cost in lives, cost in money3 Our ArsenalSimple but vitalThe immune systemThe next step forward: vaccinesCancer vaccinesThe papilloma vaccine, a controversial solutionThe danger of listening to the wrong peopleFuture challengesAntibiotics: the offensive beginsPowerful poisons or a sophisticated messaging system?Miracles with an expiry dateThe microbes of the futureResting on our laurelsThe antibiotics of the futureAntiviralsWho pays the bills?Control and prevention4 The Danger of Knowing Too MuchThe paradox: the more we research, the greater the dangerDangerous informationAnthraxBioterrorists in the USAThe return of smallpox?5 Forgotten Diseases and New DiseasesMeningitisCholeraWest Nile virusEbolaMarburg: the other serious haemorrhagic feverThe ‘forgotten’ diseasesChagas diseaseDengueHand, foot and mouth disease6 Coronaviruses and Future PandemicsCoronaviruses: the new plague?SARS: the coronaviruses enter the sceneMERS, or camel sicknessCOVID-19 changes everythingHow to stop the virusThe vaccine raceThe future of the pandemicWhat lies ahead for SARS-CoV-2Lessons from COVID-19: how to manage a crisisAnd the next pandemic?Where is the ‘supervirus’?How can we prevent the spread?Part II Major Modern Epidemics7 InfluenzaThe virus’s thousand facesThe killer coldA winter maladyA useful treatmentOne vaccine or many vaccines?The future of humanity depends on an eggThe danger of bird fluThe 2009 influenza pandemicDrugs and the race against timeEpidemic or pandemic?A change of hemispheresPrepare for the worstThe consequences of the pandemic8 AIDSAnother multifaceted virusThe African sicknessA scientists’ squabbleThe Nobel of discordThe silent infectionNecessary swift diagnosisA miraculous treatment … that doesn’t cureSide effectsThe virus becomes more dangerousTreatments for the futureAnd the famous vaccine?Defence is the best attackWhere does the money come from?Denialists: as dangerous as the virus9 TuberculosisKoch’s bacillus: an armoured microbeA problem that comes backThe threat of resistant tuberculosisNew treatments, old treatmentsAnother disease with no vaccineThe tuberculosis that comes from cows10 MalariaAll because of a mosquitoGoodwill is not enoughThe treatment and how to get it to people who need itHas the time of resistances come?The controversial SPf66 vaccineThe army is also researchingAgainst the insects: mosquito nets and genetic engineeringGlobal actionA tropical disease only?EpilogueGlossaryIndex