Introduction

An ever-present danger

Let's do our homework

A tool for understanding the present and preparing for the future

Part I Sharing the World with Microorganisms

1 Travel Companions

They were here first

Peaceful passengers

The dark side

A bit of terminology

Bacteria

Viruses: the smallest life form?

Fungi: microscopic mushrooms

2 The Story of a Never-Ending Struggle

The invisible hand behind things

Rats, fleas, and bacteria

The 'Spanish' flu

The resuscitated virus

Smallpox, a disease of the past

Poliomyelitis: next on the list?

Cost in lives, cost in money

3 Our Arsenal

Simple but vital

The immune system

The next step forward: vaccines

Cancer vaccines

The papilloma vaccine, a controversial solution

The danger of listening to the wrong people

Future challenges

Antibiotics: the offensive begins

Powerful poisons or a sophisticated messaging system?

Miracles with an expiry date

The microbes of the future

Resting on our laurels

The antibiotics of the future

Antivirals

Who pays the bills?

Control and prevention

4 The Danger of Knowing Too Much

The paradox: the more we research, the greater the danger

Dangerous information

Anthrax

Bioterrorists in the USA

The return of smallpox?

5 Forgotten Diseases and New Diseases

Meningitis

Cholera

West Nile virus

Ebola

Marburg: the other serious haemorrhagic fever

The 'forgotten' diseases

Chagas disease

Dengue

Hand, foot and mouth disease

6 Coronaviruses and Future Pandemics

Coronaviruses: the new plague?

SARS: the coronaviruses enter the scene

MERS, or camel sickness

COVID-19 changes everything

How to stop the virus

The vaccine race

The future of the pandemic

What lies ahead for SARS-CoV-2

Lessons from COVID-19: how to manage a crisis

And the next pandemic?

Where is the 'supervirus'?

How can we prevent the spread?

Part II Major Modern Epidemics

7 Influenza

The virus's thousand faces

The killer cold

A winter malady

A useful treatment

One vaccine or many vaccines?

The future of humanity depends on an egg

The danger of bird flu

The 2009 influenza pandemic

Drugs and the race against time

Epidemic or pandemic?

A change of hemispheres

Prepare for the worst

The consequences of the pandemic

8 AIDS

Another multifaceted virus

The African sickness

A scientists' squabble

The Nobel of discord

The silent infection

Necessary swift diagnosis

A miraculous treatment ... that doesn't cure

Side effects

The virus becomes more dangerous

Treatments for the future

And the famous vaccine?

Defence is the best attack

Where does the money come from?

Denialists: as dangerous as the virus

9 Tuberculosis

Koch's bacillus: an armoured microbe

A problem that comes back

The threat of resistant tuberculosis

New treatments, old treatments

Another disease with no vaccine

The tuberculosis that comes from cows

10 Malaria

All because of a mosquito

Goodwill is not enough

The treatment and how to get it to people who need it

Has the time of resistances come?

The controversial SPf66 vaccine

The army is also researching

Against the insects: mosquito nets and genetic engineering

Global action

A tropical disease only?

Epilogue

Glossary

Index