Dead Epidemiologists

On the Origins of COVID-19

Rob Wallace

• Publisher: Monthly Review Press
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9781583679043
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Scienze biologiche
• Subtopic: Epidemiologia

A history of COVID-19 and the sociopolitical crises that led to the 2020 global pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic shocked the world. It shouldn't have. Since this century's turn, epidemiologists have warned of new infectious diseases. Indeed, H1N1, H7N9, SARS, MERS, Ebola Makona, Zika, and a variety of lesser viruses have emerged almost annually. But what of the epidemiologists themselves? Some bravely descended into the caves where bat species hosted coronaviruses, including the strains that evolved into the COVID-19 virus. Yet, despite their own warnings, many of the researchers appear unable to understand the true nature of the disease—as if they are dead to what they've seen. Dead Epidemiologists is an eclectic collection of commentaries, articles, and interviews revealing the hidden-in-plain-sight truth behind the pandemic: Global capital drove the deforestation and development that exposed us to new pathogens. Rob Wallace and his colleagues—ecologists, geographers, activists, and, yes, epidemiologists—unpack the material and conceptual origins of COVID-19. From deepest Yunnan to the boardrooms of New York City, this book offers a compelling diagnosis of the roots of COVID-19, and a stark prognosis of what—without further intervention—may come.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Preface
• Notes on a Novel Coronavirus
• Interview: “Agribusiness Would Risk Millions of Deaths”
• COVID-19 and Circuits of Capital
• Interview: “Internationalism Must Sweep Away Globalization”
• The Kill Floor
• Square Roots
• Midvinter-19
• Blood Machines
• The Origins of Industrial Agricultural Pathogens
• Pandemic Research for the People
• The Bright Bulbs
• To the Bat Cave
• Notes
• Index