![]() ![]() ![]() These are diseases that cross from animals to humans, and they are the subject of Quammen’s inquiry and his many adventures. This year’s West Nile outbreak, the deadliest in the United States since the virus was first spotted in New York in 1999, represents the local front in a perpetual global struggle with what are called zoonotic diseases. ![]() This should be no surprise, according to the tale David Quammen tells in “Spillover,” his highly engaging exploration of animal infections and the perils they pose for people. The precautions we took were familiar: They were the same ones I followed when traveling to far-off tropical locales where malaria-carrying mosquitoes were a danger. But this year, with the surge in West Nile virus infections, those critters were downright menacing. The mosquitoes in our corner of Washington have always been thick and aggressive. Firing up the grill in the evening called for long sleeves, long pants and proper shoes, not flip-flops. We kept a bottle of mosquito repellent right next to the back door this summer and made sure the balky screen door was pulled tight each time we came in from the garden. ![]()
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