The Monster at Our Door : The Global Threat of Avian Flu

**From the acclaimed writer __The Nation__ calls the "master of disaster prose," a terrifying forecast of a new global threat.**__"We are talking at least seven million deaths, but maybe more—10 million, 20 million, and the worst case, 100 million."—Shigeru Omi, Regional Director, western pacific office of the World Health Organization, November 2004__Avian influenza is a viral asteroid on a collision course with humanity. In 1918, a pandemic strain of influenza killed at least 40 million people in three months. Now, leading researchers believe, another world catastrophe is imminent.A virus of astonishing lethality, known as H5N1, has become entrenched in the poultry and wild bird populations of East Asia. It kills two out of every three people it infects. The World Health Organization warns that it is on the verge of mutating into a super-contagious pandemic form that could visit several billion homes within two years.In this urgent and extraordinarily frightening book, Mike Davis reconstructs the scientific and political history of a viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles of agribusiness and the fast-food industries, abetted by corrupt governments, in creating the ecological conditions for the emergence of this new plague. He also details the scandalous failure of the Bush administration, obsessed with hypothetical "bio-terrorism," to safeguard Americans from the greatest biological threat since HIV/AIDS. Avian influenza is a viral asteroid on a collision course with humanity. In 1918, a pandemic strain of influenza killed at least 40 million people in three months. Now, leading researchers believe, another world catastrophe is imminent. A virus of astonishing lethality, known as H5N1, has become entrenched in the poultry and wild bird populations of East Asia. It kills two out of every three people it infects. The World Health Organization warns that it is on the verge of mutating into a super-contagious pandemic form. In this urgent and extraordinarily frightening book, Mike Davis reconstructs the scientific and political history of a viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles of agribusiness and the fast-food industries, abetted by corrupt governments, in creating the ecological conditions for the emergence of this new plague. He also details the scandalous failure of the Bush administration, obsessed with hypothetical "bio-terrorism," to safeguard Americans from the greatest biological threat since HIV/AIDS. Review "Read this book, and after the inevitable nightmares, take a deep breath. Then start pestering your politicans, demanding they read it and do something, before pandemic influenza claims millions of lives."--Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Coming Plague Book Description The virus known as H5N1 is now endemic among poultry and wild bird populations in East Asia. A flu strain of astonishing lethality, it has a talent for transforming itself to foil the human immune system—and kills two out of every three people it infects. The World Health Organization now warns that avian flu is on the verge of mutating info a super-contagious form that could travel at pandemic velocity, killing up to 100 million people in two years. In The Monster at Our Door, the first book to sound this alarm, our foremost urban and environmental critic reconstructs the scientific and political history of this viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles played by burgeoning slums, the agribusiness and fast-food industries, and corrupt governments. Mike Davis tracks the avian flu crisis as the virus moves west and the world remains woefully unprepared to contain it. With drug companies unwilling to invest inessential vaccines, severe shortages persist, a scenario Davis compares to the sinking Titanic : there are virtually no lifesaving resources available to the poor, and precious few for the rich, too. Medical,Veterinary Medicine,Public Health,Food Animal In 1918, A Pandemic Strain Of Influenza Killed At Least 40 Million People In Three Months. Now, Leading Researchers Believe, Another World Catastrophe Is Imminent. The World Health Organization Warns That The Bird Flu Is On The Verge Of Mutating Into A Super-contagious Pandemic Form That Could Visit Several Billion Homes Within Two Years. In This Book, Mike Davis Reconstructs The Scientific And Political History Of A Viral Apocalypse In The Making, Exposing The Central Roles Of Agribusiness And The Fast-food Industries, Abetted By Corrupt Governments, In Creating The Ecological Conditions For The Emergence Of This New Plague. He Also Details The Failure Of The Bush Administration, Obsessed With Hypothetical Bio-terrorism, To Safeguard Americans From The Greatest Biological Threat Since Hiv/aids.--from Publisher Description. Preface: Pieta -- Evolution's Fast Lane -- The Virulence Of Poverty -- The Wrong Lessons -- Birds Of Hong Kong -- A Messy Story -- Pandemic Surprise -- The Triangle Of Doom -- Plague And Profit -- Edge Of The Abyss -- Homeland Insecurity -- Structural Contradictions -- The Titanic Paradigm -- Conclusion: Year Of The Rooster. Mike Davis. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 179-199) And Index. The MacArthur Fellow and author of Dead Cities presents a terrifying forecast of a new global threat—and “its argument is irrefutable” (The Independent). Hailed by The Nation as a “master of disaster prose,” author and activist Mike Davis addresses the imminent catastrophe of Avian influenza. In 1918, a pandemic strain of influenza killed at least forty million people in three months. Now, leading researchers believe, another global outbreak is all but inevitable. A virus of astonishing lethality, known as H5N1, has become entrenched in the poultry and wild bird populations of East Asia. It kills two out of every three people it infects. The World Health Organization warns that it is on the verge of mutating into a super-contagious pandemic form that could visit several billion homes within two years. In this urgent and alarming book, Mike Davis reconstructs the scientific and political history of a viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles of agribusiness and the fast-food industries, abetted by corrupt governments, in creating the ecological conditions for the emergence of this new plague. "In 1918, a pandemic strain of influenza killed at least 40 million people in three months. Now, leading researchers believe, another world catastrophe is imminent. The World Health Organization warns that the "bird flu" is on the verge of mutating into a super-contagious pandemic form that could visit several billion homes within two years. In this book, Mike Davis reconstructs the scientific and political history of a viral apocalypse in the making, exposing the central roles of agribusiness and the fast-food industries, abetted by corrupt governments, in creating the ecological conditions for the emergence of this new plague. He also details the failure of the Bush administration, obsessed with hypothetical "bio-terrorism," to safeguard Americans from the greatest biological threat since HIV/AIDS"-- From publisher description