Spike: The Virus v The People – The Inside Story

By Jeremy Farrar and Anjana Ahuja

‘An explosive book about what he witnessed inside government’

– The Times

‘A gripping account of the murky interplay between science, medicine, politics, and the media while COVID-19 ravaged the globe… Farrar brings the insider’s access, Ahuja the sense of pace and plot that makes an unfolding public health crisis read like a John le Carré spy thriller’

– Rachel Clarke, Lancet

The first inside account of the early weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic by one of the world’s most trusted, connected and influential pandemic experts

Jeremy Farrar, an expert in emerging infectious diseases who has seen epidemics all over the globe, including HIV, Ebola, Sars and H5N1 bird flu, was one of the first people to hear about a mysterious new respiratory virus in China – and to learn it is more contagious and spreads more quickly than human influenza. He helped to mobilize the global science community through the World Health Organization and has a major role advising governments around the world (from 2017 until 2019, for instance, he was a member of the German Ministry of Health’s International Advisory Board on Global Health).

Spike is a riveting account of what it feels like at the sharp end of such a fast-moving situation, when complex decisions must be made quickly with minimal information and in the face of great uncertainty. With the acclaimed science writer Anjana Ahuja, Farrar weaves a fast-paced narrative that transports readers to pivotal moments in the pandemic. They show the human side of science, introducing researchers studying this unusual virus and predicting its next move. Along the way they demystify what happens when a new disease breaks out, explain the evolving science (including vaccines and treatments) and shed light on the perpetual struggle between people and pathogens.