They persist because they are endemic in a reservoir population through a process of mutual adaptation. Some, like Ebola and lesser-known viral diseases (Nipah, Hendra, Marburg), are highly transmissible and virulent, but so far have been limited to sporadic outbreaks. The technical term is “spillover.” It’s likely that all infections began as spillovers. The author discusses zoonoses, infectious diseases that originate in animals and spread to humans. Darwin, 2006, etc.) sums up in one absorbing volume what we know about some of the world’s scariest scourges: Ebola, AIDS, pandemic influenza-and what we can do to thwart the “NBO,” the Next Big One.
Nature writer and intrepid traveler Quammen ( The Reluctant Mr.
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