Spillover
I love reading. Books are my happy place. As a young adult, I started reading a lot, and sometimes I surprise myself with new interests. I read anything from Agatha Christie's murder mysteries to cookbooks and scientific books. I guess it all depends on what state of mind I am in, or what work-related topics I am interested in.
I do not always have time to read as much as I would want, but reading is part of my evening routine. I try to read a book a month, and it seems I always read more when I am on vacation, relaxed and disconnected.
2020 was a year full of events, right? It seems like we had a lot of bad luck. But we should be focusing on good things. Life is an adventure with good and bad events. This is how we learn, evolve, and adapt.
From the many books I have read this year, this one is totally related to the crisis we are in.
SPILLOVER BY DAVID QUAMMEN; Animal infections and the next human pandemic.
How many times do you see a book review on the NIH (National Institute of Health) website?
“Spillover includes adventure, action, and mystery. Mr. Quammen journeys across the globe to track down the origins of human epidemics and pandemics. He consistently demonstrates that Ebola, SARS, and HIV/AIDS, among others, are the results of microbes jumping from animals to humans, zoonotic spillovers of sorts. Mr. Quammen questions the causes of these spillover events, ultimately concluding that we humans may be the very ones providing the sparks, and then turning around and crying fire.” by Abdul Kareem Ahmed
This book was written in 2012 and was the result of five years of research on scientists who were looking into the possibility of another Ebola-type disease emerging. The consensus: There would indeed be a new disease, likely from the coronavirus family, coming out of a bat, and it would likely emerge in or around a wet market in China. I mean, WOW!
This book is a MUST read. If you know someone who loves reading, this will be the perfect gift. Or, if you want to understand better why we are in this global situation, this will offer a different perspective.
In good health,
Ioana