Beasts of the Earth: Animals, Humans, and Disease.

E. FULLER TORREY AND ROBERT H. YOLKEN

People have lived among animals for thousands of years, depending on them for everything from companionship to food. However, animals have also provided a less desirable legacy: a multitude of microbes that make people sick. Indeed, researchers have identified more than 800 microbes that are transmitted from animals to people. Torrey and Yolken trace the origins and routes of animal-borne illnesses from diseases such as herpes and malaria that first infected humans millions of years ago to modern infections such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and mad cow disease. The authors examine how the rise of agriculture, trade, and urbanization has created avenues for the spread of germs among populations. They note that present-day changes in behavior, technology, and ecology continue to promote the spread of microbes from animals to people. Though modern medicine has treatments for many of the diseases that have plagued people historically, the authors caution that unknown illnesses will continue to emerge and must be addressed. Rutgers University Press, 2005, 191 p., hardcover, $23.95.