Today, we do not doubt the existence of bacteria and viruses (at least the vast majority of us don't). Zimmer traces the development of disease theory from the belief in spontaneous generation to modern microbiology. In the days before microscopes and clinical trials, there were plenty of theories which were debated by the scientific community. There was a lot of animosity between various factions, proving that scientists are human too and have their prejudices. To some extent, the old saying “Seeing is believing” was one of the problems that they dealt with. The advent of the microscope helped a lot.
Every new disease, it seems, starts an argument about how it is spread. Is it by contact or is the vector airborne? No one apparently wants to believe in airborne bacteria or viruses. Zimmer describes the men and women who struggled in the early 20th century to study the droplets that we humans emit as we cough, sneeze, sing, or even just talk. Some were obsessed with the movement of air in buildings such as hospitals or other congregate settings. All were sidelined and their research largely ignored. Some of it was their own fault—they were often contentious people, obsessed with their subject, but hopeless at explaining it or convincing others of its importance. They were their own worst enemies.
Zimmer hits many of the high spots in air borne illness over recent decades. Remember the envelopes of anthrax spores that closed down the U.S. senate shortly after the 9/11 attacks? The SARS outbreak of 2002-2004, our first nasty encounter with a coronavirus? The H1N1 flu outbreak of 2009? (I traveled to India that year shortly after suffering through a bout of H1N1 and was worried about their checks for passengers with fevers on arrival. Thankfully I passed that test.)
Enter, stage left, Covid-19 in 2020. Old prejudices stubbornly prevented recognition of air transmission of the virus. Trump's White House dismissed the disease as inconsequential. They hadn't laid in stocks of either N95 masks or antiviral drugs (which the departing Obama administration recommended), leaving the country drastically short. The Biden administration didn't excel either. We didn't fare much better here in Canada—some of our guidelines were nonsense, which reduced confidence in the useful ones.
I found it fascinating that UV lights can kill airborne viruses. This has been known since the early 20th century, yet hasn't been incorporated into hospitals, homeless shelters, or other public gathering spaces. Zimmer tries to strike an optimistic mood about what we have learned over the pandemic, but I found my faith in that wavering as I finished. Governments change course with reluctance and recent events have shaken our confidence in governmental pronouncements. Here's hoping we don't have to test our readiness again too soon.
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