It is worth noting that at the beginning of the 2014 Ebola outbreak, a part of Spillover was updated and republished. Quammen’s vivid and personal descriptions of the fieldwork, the extraordinary working conditions, and the chance scientific breakthroughs are what make Spillover such a pleasant mix of popular science and reportage. The hunt for its reservoir host continues, although bats are a likely candidate. But it still is a horrific disease that stalks Africa, periodically popping up in humans but also killing many gorillas. The bloody details of this disease have been slightly exaggerated in the (in)famous book The Hot Zone (Quammen provides a healthy corrective). Quammen spares no effort and accompanies many such scientists in the field, specifically to learn more about Ebola. They strike unexpectedly and disappear again, sometimes for years. Zoonoses are more like guerilla fighters. “ the second important concept in this book: reservoir hosts.

Several such virus hunters have written about their adventures. Tracking down these reservoir hosts requires intrepid individuals willing to leave the confines of their laboratory. They strike unexpectedly and disappear again, sometimes for years, while living on in other organisms where they cause little harm.

Zoonoses, in Quammen’s words, are more like guerilla fighters. With nowhere else to hide, they can be eradicated by sustained vaccination campaigns. The reason viral diseases such as polio and smallpox no longer plague us is that they only occur in humans. Zoonosis leads on to the second important concept in this book: reservoir hosts. This crossing of species boundaries by infectious diseases is at the heart of Spillover and is a phenomenon known as zoonosis (professionals will want to refer to Zoonoses). After months of research, it was traced back to bats. First recognized in Brisbane, Australia, in 1994, it killed a dozen horses and one man. You can be excused for never having heard of Hendra. He kicks off with the pandemic that wasn’t. But do not let this put you off, for he is a master at writing a suspenseful narrative and has chopped up the book in 115 short chapters that irresistibly flow into each other.

Quammen likes to write big, chunky books. Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, written by David Quammen, published by Vintage in August 2013 (paperback, 592 pages)

The spillover book