The Fatal Strain: On the Trail of Avian Flu and the Coming Pandemic

by Alan Sipress

In 2009, Swine Flu reminded us that pandemics still happen, and award- winning journalist Alan Sipress reminds us that far worse could be brewing. When a highly lethal strain of avian flu broke out in Asia in 2003 and raced westward, Sipress, as a reporter for The Washington Post, tracked the virus across nine countries, watching its secrets elude the world's brightest scientists and most intrepid disease hunters. A vivid portrayal of the struggle between man and microbe, The Fatal Strain is a fast-moving account that weaves cultural, political, and scientific strands into a tale of inevitable pandemic.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Health, Audiobook, History, Medicine, Medical

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[donna backshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of science, and especially virus-related, books lately and most of them have been chock full of great information and presented in a compelling format.

The Fatal Strain: On the Trail of Avian Flu and the Coming Pandemic sadly doesn't fall into that "compelling" category. It contained a lot of good facts and is an important read, but I had a hard time staying on task with it. It was dry, redundant and wasn't organized in a way I could easily follow. In fact, I was so underwhelmed by the way it was written, I had to immediately flee to a bit of simple and straightforward mind candy -- the next in the Castle/Nikki Heat series -- just to clear the fog The Fatal Strain created in my brain.

I couldn't connect with this one, but you might! It's all about what you're looking for in a medical-science-history book. I tend to get more out of the humorous anecdotes of Bill Bryson or the real life drama of Richard Preston, it appears, than the "just the facts, ma'am" style of Alan Sipress.

[Zoe Fedderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never though I'd read a 400 page non-fiction book about epidemiology and say I actually enjoyed it, but that did just happened people. I can't help but be amazed how Alan writes, It's like he's gently shoving masses of intelligence in to your mind. It was so easy to understand everything although it may seem like a complicated book. I could tell that Alan tried to twist his language every once and a while to attracted all audiences into his web. The best part: HE INTERVIEWED ALL OF THESE PEOPLE IN SOUTH EAST ASIA HIMSELF. HE SPENT HIS OWN MONEY AND TIME TO INTERVIEW PEOPLE. THIS GUY IS AMAZING. He interviewed many people who were victims of the Avian flu, and also many epidemiologists, virologists, and microbiologists. Praise to you Alan Sipress!

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, but the book labored on about the same points for some very long-winded chapters. It also focused mainly on the politics and economics of Asia as a sole factor for the potential pan/epidemic of avian flu, and I was expecting more of a discussion about "what happens when the next fatal strain comes." Overall, though, not bad.

[Shana Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of avian flu and the risk it poses to humanity. Sipress has obviously done extensive research and travel on the topic and his journalistic instincts are good. The mixture of science with the personality of those hunting and researching influenza, along with vignettes from victims and their families, make for a good, if disturbing, read.

[Mhairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating and absolutely terrifying read.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of how disease spreads from the farmer straight to the masses. This book makes a reasonable argument that the flu is more dangerous than diseases like Ebola. The author combines together interviews and medical research into a fascinating account of the avian flu spread. A book over epidemiology does not seem interesting, however this book went well beyond expectations. The interviews are my favorite part. Someone needs to spin the Cock fighting chapter into a separate book.

Here is a random assortment of things I enjoyed in the spoiler

Alan Sipress, formerly a Washington Post reporter spends years tracking avian flu.
The trail of the virus led Sipress "from one end of Southeas Asia to the other ... across nine countries, through hospitals, and laboratories, into chicken coops, rice paddies, wet markets, and cockfighting rings."

Sipress believes it's all but certain that someday, the virus will hit upon just the right combination of lethality and communicability to cause a worldwide pandemic, with the potential to kill tens of millions of people. And he backs his belief up with a lot of history and a lot of science.

The tale of the coming fatal strain is a complicated and unnerving one, twisting through the politics of underfunded public health agencies trying to keep ahead of the virus, but facing political and economic pressures to cover up outbreaks of avian flu. When even rumors of outbreaks can lead to the killing of millions of chickens, ducks and geeese, its no surprise that local sellers and raisers of these birds stubbornly resist acknowledging that the virus might be present in their flocks. Add to that the fact that of the virus strains needed to prepare vaccines is mostly found in impoverished third world countries, who want to be paid for providing specimens, and you've got the makings of intense political friction.

Horrific descriptions of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic which killed 50 million people worldwide, including nearly 13,000 people in Philadelphia alone.

His cockfighting interviews were amazing, I enjoyed to see the love and care that the people place into their cock raising.

[Mazola1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Fatal Strain, a book about avian flu viruses, reads like a medical thriller. While that's a good thing for those who enjoy good read, it's probably a bad thing for the future of the world's health. Alan Sipress is a reporter who spent years tracking avian flu. His book tells the tale of his travels and what he found out about avian flu, from its history to what he regards as the inevitable coming flu pandemic. The trail of the virus led Sipress "from one end of Southeas Asia to the other ... across nine countries, through hospitals, and laboratories, into chicken coops, rice paddies, wet markets, and cockfighting rings."

The book hopscotches around bit, from flu outbreaks in China, Indonesia, Cambodia. But that just mirrors the virus itself, always on the march, but never in a straight line. The flu is a great shapeshifter, too, restlessly mutating, changings its strategies. Sipress believes it's all but certain that someday, the virus will hit upon just the right combination of lethality and communicability to cause a worldwide pandemic, with the potential to kill tens of millions of people. And he backs his belief up with a lot of history and a lot of science.

The tale of the coming fatal strain is a complicated and unnerving one, twisting through the politics of underfunded public health agencies trying to keep ahead of the virus, but facing political and economic pressures to cover up outbreaks of avian flu. When even rumors of outbreaks can lead to the killing of millions of chickens, ducks and geeese, its no surprise that local sellers and raisers of these birds stubbornly resist acknowledging that the virus might be present in their flocks. Add to that the fact that of the virus strains needed to prepare vaccines is mostly found in impoverished third world countries, who want to be paid for providing specimens, and you've got the makings of intense political friction. Sipress does a fine job of making both the medicine and the politics of the flu interesting and understandable. His book is fast paced and fascinating, a real life thriller.

[Siim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vital book these days. As the virus is circulating the globe, it's good to catch up on how viruses are fought. How much work the WHO and governments are doing to discover the next pandemic strains of viruses. Mostly the book focuses on avian flu (H5N1). There are stories about the people who get sick and people who follow the traces when somebody did. Mostly the traces lead to contact with avian blood and the slaughter of thousands of birds. In fact, as the author says, for every one death humans suffer, a million birds have died, either because of the illness or (mostly) because they have been culled to keep the virus from spreading.

After reading this book you come away thinking the WHO is doing the best job it can under the political and economic environments it is operating in. It has to fight resource constraints, misinformation coming from member countries, it cannot even go into a country unless explicitly asked to do so. Most countries don't want the next pandemic strain to be associated with it, however.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of research went into this book and overall it was really interesting with all the intense details about about the flu, but I think it could have been edited down a bit and still been great. I didn't need to know someone lived in an emerald house or that someone from Thailand had crinkles around their eyes as they smiled. A little too much with the descriptive parts that I don't really even need to know, but the way the flu moves and changes was so interesting, and the fact that pandemics are more likely to happen because of the way people raise food to eat, we need to learn to mask up and get real about pandemics, yet to be prepared takes money and in a world that favors capitalism, governments as well as small farmers don't want to spend the money and around the world it's in their business interests to keep the public ignorant. It's a sad state, but this book offers lots of information about flus and why pandemics will always be with us.

[David Corleto-Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sipress, formerly of the Washington Post, delves into the world of tracking down flu strains in the attempt to avoid the next great flu pandemic. Involved in this elaborate international effort is the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization in Geneva as the medical sleuths go from Hong Kong to Vietnam to Thailand to Indonesia in search of bird flu, the H5 viruses that have leapt species and threaten massive future epidemics that most countries are unprepared for. Horrific descriptions of the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic which killed 50 million people worldwide, including nearly 13,000 people in Philadelphia alone.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calling all you would-be virologists out there. This is a fascinating book about the development of bird flu, how the raising of birds is actually done in East Asia and how they do and don't control outbreaks, how it can and has jumped the species barrier from animals to humans, etc. This is not dry reading but a compelling mystery that will have you on the edge of your seat.

[Holly McIntyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent discussion of the history, and possible future, of Avian flu. At times it does seem a bit lost in the details, but provides a clear outline of the possible dangers. It seems a bit dated in light of our global Covid experience, so would benefit from an update.

[Max Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much an analysis of East Asian politics as epidemiology, but a good read. You're never trust chickens again.

[Katie]

If I haven’t read so many other books related to epidemiology of infectious disease I might have given this book 3/5 stars. It drags and I have trouble keeping my mind focused on the works I’m reading. Maybe my expectations were too high given the subject matter (bird flu and SARS). There are many interesting statements made in this book, but the overall content is lackluster in my opinion. I wish it had faced the subject matter in something more of a timeline, as to tell a story about the history of bird flu in the world. Instead, it jumps around time and place making it a very unorganized read.
Some excerpts from the book are eerie as it foreshadows events we are experiencing throughout the world today. For this reason I could see it being a great book for laymen to pick up now and enjoy.

[Mau Valmont · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic with a troubled execution.

The author jumps from one country to the next, from one year to the other, and then jumps back to the start from one paragraph to the other making it very hard to follow at times and utterly redundant.

Additionally the amount of characters introduced is too much compared to how little new information they added to the plot.

[Wendi Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a few things: pigs and chickens mix too well, encouraging the incubation and mutation of flu strains, and doctors helped spread the early stages of SARS when they treated patients with suspected disease and then got on public transport, stayed in a hotel, or went to a public event.

[Maya Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

a great story, yet told somewhat disjointedly. it was a tough to keep track of all the different players, but the writing was so beautiful sometimes i forgot it was about a very real pandemic flu strain that could kill millions of people.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Obsolete. 2009 edition. Might be a good history book now.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Published in 2019, but eerily prophetic to the COVID pandemic in many ways.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the content of this book was good. It was interesting to hear some of the politics and cultural differences related to various types of flu around the world. The format and style of the book made it difficult to read. The author jumped around in time and location following different health care workers, WHO, CDC and government employees, making it hard to focus on the content as much as I would have liked to. It took me a long time to get through, even though I was interested in learning what the book had to offer.

[Megha Kalra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most well researched book I have read or could imagine ever reading. Spectacular. Must read for all times.

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take-aways from this book:

1. A flu pandemic will come again, and when it does, millions of people will probably die. There's very little medicine can do to change that.

2. One thing medicine CAN do is coordinate with animal health officials. Preventing epidemic bird flu in flocks of domesticated birds could help reduce the spread of the viruses to the human population.

3. As of the writing of this book, bird flu was bad at jumping from person to person, which is why it rarely spread further than populations who had direct contact with infected birds. Someday that will change - see numbers 1 and 2 above.

We shouldn't panic, but we should use good hygiene measures, such as frequent hand-washing and washing shoes after they come in contact with bird droppings. That might help a little.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this book I found fascinating - and somewhat disturbing - such as the politics behind covering up outbreaks and withholding of samples, though I completely understand not wanting pharmaceutical companies to profit from the misfortunes of others. There were other parts of this book that I found incredibly difficult to wade through - did we really need all that description of cock fighting?

The topic is important. Understanding the political mire is important. Understanding the role of migratory patterns is important. Understanding the impact of globalization on the spread of disease is important. So I'm glad I read the book. It would be far more readable if entire sections were removed, however.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this book sounds a lot more alarmist than it really is. It's more about the past outbreaks of avian flu rather than oh-my-God-we're-all-gonna-die from a future outbreak. It's really interesting to read about this now during the current Ebola outbreak. I don't remember everyone panicking so much when bird flu was going around (though admittedly I didn't really pay attention), but this book makes a fair case that flu is something we should be a lot more worried about than Ebola.

[Katie Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but some parts get a little difficult to follow. When the author explains that when the bird flu first struck cities in Thailand and China the people were convinced that it wasn't a disease - it was a curse - I almost laughed out loud. Everything that the WHO has to go through when working with the people in these countries is more than a little ridiculous.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite Tony's assertion that this sounds like a book about serious constipation, it is a pretty fascinating and disturbing read. The inevitability of a flu pandemic and how close we've already come is frightening, and the complete inefficacy of control efforts due to lack of cultural understanding appeals to the medical anthropologist in me.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty weak. Just an oddball collection of stories about people working on bird flu outbreaks. If they were making a big difference, Sipress certainly didn't adequately make that case. I imagine the idea is to scare us into caring about bird flu, but I think the popular media has done a decent job of that already.

[Ayman Fadel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of great information, but sometimes there is narrative where there doesn't need to be.

I wonder why the author never considers if ending livestock & poultry mass production are viable options to consider.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information on Avian Flu in this book- glad that I don't frequent live poultry markets. This book had a lot of good information in it- my only gripe was that it got a little repetitive at times. Otherwise, a fascinating listen.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off strong. But then got a bit repetitive. I think the challenge for the author is the topic is not broad enough to warrant a book. A really long article might have been just as effective. All in all though an interesting read about the bug that is going to take us down.