From the masters of storytelling-meets-science and co-authors of Quackery, Patient Zero tells the long and fascinating history of disease outbreaks-how they start, how they spread, the science that lets us understand them, and how we race to destroy them before they destroy us. Written in the authors' lively and accessible style, chapters include page-turning medical stories about a particular disease or virus-smallpox, Bubonic plague, polio, HIV-that combine "Patient Zero" narratives, or the human stories behind outbreaks, with historical examinations of missteps, milestones, scientific theories, and more. Learn the tragic stories of Patient Zeros throughout history, such as Mabalo Lokela, who contracted Ebola while on vacation in 1976, and the Lewis Baby on London's Broad Street, the first to catch cholera in an 1854 outbreak that led to a major medical breakthrough. Interspersed are origin stories of a different sort-how a rye fungus in 1951 turned a small village in France into a phantasmagoric scene reminiscent of Burning Man. Plus the uneasy history of human autopsy, how the HIV virus has been with us for at least a century, and more. How did it start? Why did it spread? How do we stop it? Packed with one thrilling medical mystery after another, Patient Zero tells the curious story of 21 of the world's worst diseases-including smallpox, Bubonic plague, polio, AIDS-by combining Patient Zero narratives with historical examinations of missteps, milestones, scientific theories, and more. Discover the tragic story of Zaire schoolteacher Mabalo Lokela, whose relaxing vacation resulted in him becoming Patient Zero of Ebola virus disease. How a rye fungus in 1951 turned a small village in France into a phantasmagoric scene reminiscent of Burning Man. And what the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic has to teach us about Covid-19. (Guess what: There was an anti-mask movement back then, too) Lydia Kang, MD, is a practicing internal medicine physician and author of young adult fiction and adult fiction. Her YA novels include Control, Catalyst, and the upcoming The November Girl. Her adult fiction debut is entitled A Beautiful Poison. Her nonfiction has been published in JAMA, the Annals of Internal Medicine, and the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Nate Pedersen is a librarian, historian, and freelance journalist with over 400 publications in print and online, including in the Guardian, the Believer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Art of Manliness. PATIENT ZERO: A Curious History of the World's Most Deadly Diseases Table of Contents Introduction Part I: INFECTION Patient Zero: Ergotism Zoonoses: Making the Leap Patient Zero: Ebola Germ Theory: From Miasma to Microscopes Patient Zero: Plague Autopsy: From Humoral Theory to Grave Robbing Patient Zero: Hep C Anatomy of an Outbreak Patient Zero: Covid-19 Quackery Cures Patient Zero: Yellow Fever Patient Zero: Mad Cow Disease Part II: SPREAD Patient Zero: HIV Patient Zero: Typhus Leprosy Patient Zero: Typhoid Mary Indigenous Peoples & the Columbian Exchange: The "Exchange" Was Not Equal Patient Zero: Syphilis Crypto Outbreak Patient Zero: Measles Part 3: CONTAINMENT Patient Zero: 1918 Influenza Vaccines: From Variolation to Messenger RNA Patient Zero: Polio Cancer-Disease Link Patient Zero: Cholera Anthrax & Biological Warfare: The Weaponization of Disease Patient Zero: Rabies Tuberculosis Patient Zero: Last Smallpox case Medical Advancements Acknowledgments Index Credits About the Authors "[A] rich and thought-provoking book... It's also

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