Decoding the Pandemic (HB)

Why did some people develop neurological, cardiovascular, or gastrointestinal symptoms, while the infection was confined to the respiratory system in others? Why did elderly people with multiple risk factors weather it with only minor symptoms?

This brilliantly written book fishes for clues in multitudes of data about race and ethnicity, health conditions, test results and potential exposure to the virus and articulates questions as to why some people succumbed to SARS-CoV-2, while others infected with the virus experienced no symptoms.

Staying above the trivia and conspiracy theories, the book takes a long view at COVID-19. It draws a parallel with the Spanish Flu of 1918 and various other endemics that the world has seen and points out that pandemics can only be prevented by putting in place robust surveillance systems for early detection of viruses jumping from animals to human beings and by developing new antiviral drugs. COVID-19 vaccines are celebrated as saviours and the only differentiating factor that prevented deaths of the scale of the Spanish Flu pandemic.

A must-read for anyone who believes in the benevolence of nature and the power of science to protect humanity from any long-term harm, this book delivers a message of hope and confidence. It also celebrates the scientists and introduces them to the readers as warriors of life!

"If you are looking for a book that profiles the COVID-19 pandemic through an incisive and authentic analysis that blends perspectives from biology, medicine, public health, history, politics, ecology and economics, while lacing it with literary flair and profound philosophical reflections, this is the one that you should be reaching out for. Reading this will help us identify the path we must now create if we have to avoid the catastrophic consequences of future pandemics." - K. Srinath Reddy, MD, President, Public Health Foundation of India

"This timely volume extended my knowledge not only of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of viral infection, but also of the social and geographical aspects of COVID-19." - Sir Tom Blundell, PhD, FRS, University of Cambridge, UK

SEYED EHTESHAM HASNAIN, a leading scientist in the area of infectious disease biology, heads a large, well-funded interdisciplinary group of researchers on TB and COVID-19. The first Director of Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), and Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad University and Jamia Hamdard University, he is internationally acclaimed for his work on Basmati rice DNA-fingerprinting and TB. A recipient of the Padma Shri and Germany’s Highest Civilian Award (Das Verdienstkreuz, 1.Klasse), he is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology and major Science Academies of India. A National Science Chair at the Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, IIT-Delhi, he is a Distinguished Professor at the Sharda University. His website, http://www.seyedhasnain.org, elucidates his other achievements.

ARUN TIWARI is a missile scientist-turned-teacher and well-known author, widely recognised as a pupil of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the 11th President of India. Prof. Tiwari has played a pivotal role in developing India’s first indigenous coronary stent in mid-1995, as a spinoff of defence technology, and since then, has worked tirelessly for self-reliance in socially relevant technologies. He is a founder-member of the Cardiac Research and Education (CARE) Foundation, Hyderabad. He established the first link of Pan-Africa e-Network, connecting Indian hospitals and universities with their African counterparts. He is a Platinum Jubilee Mentor of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Read more about him on his website, http://www.aruntiwari.com.