They were in the jungle in the middle of Zaire investigating monkeypox when guerrillas advanced dangerously close to their position. They called the American embassy and were advised to evacuate immediately.
“They’ll likely take your vehicles and gear,” they told us. “But they probably won’t kill you.”
This was not an entirely reassuring assessment, recalls Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the UNMC College of Public Health, who will share exciting stories from his new book, “The Next Pandemic: On the Front Lines Against Humankind’s Gravest Dangers,” on Aug. 25.
The hour-long reading, followed by a question and answer period, book signing and refreshments will start at 4:30 p.m. in the Maurer Center of Public Health, Room 3013.
Dr. Khan spent 20 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including five as the director of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. Now, as dean, he has an important voice in the global conversation about how to survive the next pandemic.
“Tracking down disease outbreaks is an exciting and intimate mix of science and art,” Dr. Khan said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to share a behind the scenes look at the work of disease detectives to protect their communities and how to get ready for the next pandemic.”
“The Next Pandemic” is a vivid, humorous and unrestricted view of rampant and violent diseases, and disasters narrowly averted – and the tools we have to keep them at bay. It provides an inside account of the fight to contain the world’s deadliest diseases-and the panic and corruption that make them worse.
In each of these stories, Dr. Khan reconstructs the chaos of those first moments on the ground, making life-and-death decisions on limited and conflicting information, with local, federal and international authorities fighting to contain both the virus and the panic.
“Infectious diseases are inevitable, but the next pandemic is not with better foresight, science and preparedness to protect the health in our communities,” Dr. Khan said.
An RSVP is requested. Send it to Catherine Ely, executive assistant to Dr. Khan, by Aug. 19.
The book is available through Amazon — the Kindle edition is $12.99; hardcover is $17.30. The UNMC Bookstore also will be onsite for sales and orders of the book for $25; cash or card accepted.