   | Virus hunters : how science protects people when outbreaks and pandemics strike Author: Cherrix, Amy | |
| Price: $24.48 | ||
Summary:
A look at the elite squads of scientists, doctors, and infectious disease experts who guard the boundary between public health and pandemics, and how they gather data via boots on the ground "shoe-leather epidemiology" in order to save lives.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (08/15/24)
School Library Journal (00/09/24)
Booklist (08/01/24)
The Hornbook (+) (00/01/25)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 08/01/2024 Getting increasingly granular and technical as she goes, Cherrix surveys the history of modern epidemiology, from Dr. John Snow’s groundbreaking detective work tracking down the cause of a London cholera epidemic in 1854 to the worldwide eradication of smallpox in the 1970s and the development of mRNA-tailored vaccines to fight COVID-19. Though focusing on particular scientists and their work, she also highlights the achievements of the radical group ACT UP in spurring AIDS research. Moreover, she’s not hesitant to expand her purview even further by pointing out sexism in the scientific establishment or instances during disease outbreaks of homophobia and racial prejudice in official policies and statements. The info-load here is a heavy one, and there are few graphics or illustrations to provide visual relief. Still, the author does break her narrative up into dozens of short chapters to make content easier to digest. She lightens up at the end with a visit to the Centers for Disease Control’s Disease Detectives, a youth summer camp for, as she puts it, “the next generation of public health defenders.” - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
