Viral epidemics: from influenza to ebola and COVID-19 /

389 Pages·1·67.747 MB·English

by  Rae-Ellen W. Kavey and Allison B. Kavey.

VIRAL PANDEMICS

Written by a public health practitioner and a medical historian, Viral Pandemics
explores the terrifying world of viruses as the cause of all acute pandemics since
1900, including the COVID- 19 pandemic. The book illuminates the critical dual
roles of viral biology and increasing global interconnectedness that have resulted in
an escalating pandemic spiral.
Viral Pandemics is the first book to focus exclusively on pandemics caused by
viruses and the first to report the COVID- 19 pandemic. In each chapter, the
historiographic narrative follows the path of the virus from its original detection
through its first appearance as the cause of disease, to its emergence as an explosive
pandemic. Scientific information is presented in an accessible, straightforward
style in compelling narratives that introduce the extraordinary universe of
diverse, opportunistic viruses whose remarkable capacities make them formidable
adversaries. The book makes it clear that global viral disease challenges are a
persistent reality with the potential to cause catastrophic loss of life and major social
and economic damage. A summary chapter draws together lessons learned and
develops a proposed multidisciplinary global response.
Viral Pandemics is the only book that provides a complete historical narrative
focused on viral pandemics. This comprehensive survey is designed for students and
scholars in biology, epidemiology, public health, global history and the history of
medicine, as well as general readers interested in the science of pandemics.
Rae- Ellen W. Kavey, MD, MPH is a pediatric cardiologist and public health
practitioner with a career- long commitment to traditional medicine and to a
public health approach to prevention of heart disease beginning in childhood.
While at the National Institutes of Health, she directed development of the current
national guidelines for pediatric cardiovascular health. Author of more than a
hundred articles and four book chapters, she is currently a consultant to the NIH
Pediatric Heart Network, an instructor in the Department of Medical Humanities
at the University of Rochester Medical Center and an adjunct professor in the
Department of History at the CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where
she has been teaching the epidemiology of epidemics to undergraduates.

Allison B. Kavey, MD, MPH is a professor of history at CUNY John Jay College
of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Centre. She specializes in early
modern history of natural philosophy and has written on alchemy and books of
secrets, as well as Agrippa von Nettesheim’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy. She has
taught extensively in the history of medicine and written on the history of anatomy,
most recently relating to Shelley’s Frankenstein. She holds a doctorate in the history
of medicine from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
VIRAL PANDEMICS

From Smallpox to COVID- 19
Rae- Ellen W. Kavey and Allison B. Kavey
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Rae- Ellen W. Kavey and Allison B. Kavey
The right of Rae- Ellen W. Kavey and Allison B. Kavey to be identified as authors of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing- in- Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 43964- 4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 43965- 1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 00680- 0 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
Dedications
REK
For Les, without whom there would be no book.
For Allison, who taught me what real history is.
For Molly, faithful companion who was with me through every page.
ABK
For my mum who found a way to bring two worlds of
knowledge together to make one book.
“Epidemics on the other side of the world are a threat to us all.
No epidemic is just local.”
Peter Piot
“Messieurs, c’est les microbes qui auront le dernier mot.”
(Gentlemen, it is the microbes who will have the last word.)
Louis Pasteur

CONTENTS

List of Figures viii

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiv

1 A Brief Introduction to Virology: Preventing the Unknown 1

2 The Smallpox Story: Gone but not Forgotten 13

3 Yellow Fever: The Jungle Story 48

4 The Great Influenza: A Virus for All Time 85

5 Polio: The Plague of Summer 125

6 HIV and AIDS: The Never- Ending Story 172

7 Out of Nowhere: West Nile Virus, SARS, Zika, and Ebola 240

8 A Way Forward 294

9 And Now, as Promised: The 2019 SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19
Pandemic 331

Epilogue 357

Index 361
FIGURES

Chapter 1
1.1 Transmission electron micrograph of coronavirus particles found
near the periphery of an infected cell. 1
1.2 Basic diagram of a virus. 6
1.3 Viral bacteriophage attaching to a bacterium. 10
Chapter 2
2.1 Electron micrograph of smallpox virus. 13
2.2 Unidentified child with classic smallpox rash. 18
2.3 World map showing smallpox endemic areas in 1950. 29
Chapter 3
3.1 Electron micrograph of yellow fever virus. 48
3.2 Aedes aegyptii mosquito. 58
3.3 Global map of the predicted distribution of A. aegypti. 69
Chapter 4
4.1 Electron micrograph of influenza. 85
4.2 Median age at death by gender and calendar year: 1900– 2100. 95
4.3 Graphical image of influenza A virus with surface glycoproteins and
interior displayed. 98
4.4 Global migration patterns of highly pathogenic avian influenza
A (H5N1) viruses estimated from sequence data sampled during
1996– 2012. 109
List of Figures ix
Chapter 5
5.1 Electron micrograph of polio virus. 125
5.2 President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his wheelchair with his dog,
Nala, and a young friend. 136
5.3 Poliomyelitis cases – United States 1950– 2010. 146
Chapter 6
6.1 HIV virions budding and releasing from an infected cell. 172
6.2 Timeline of CD4 T- cell and viral- load changes over time in
untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. 190
6.3 Death rate for HIV disease for individuals of all ages by
race/ ethnicity and gender after introduction of highly active
antiretroviral therapy (HAART). 199
Chapter 7
7.1 Electron micrograph of the Ebola virus. 240
7.2 Ebola cases reported to the WHO from Guinea, Liberia, and
Sierra Leone by week, from March 23, 2014 to January 3, 2016. 276
Chapter 8
8.1 An adult female hammer- headed fruit bat with attached young
in the Republic of Congo. 294
8.2 Global number of human infectious disease outbreaks, 1980– 2010. 299
8.3 World population over time. 301
Chapter 9
9.1 Novel coronavirus SARS- CoV- 2. 331
9.2 Computer rendering of the coronavirus 2019- nCoV/ SARS- CoV- 2. 338
9.3 Distribution of laboratory- confirmed cases of COVID- 19
worldwide, December 12, 2019– February 25, 2020. 350