AUTHORS SAY

‘ The emergence of Zika virus is a planetary alarm ’ KALPISH RATNA is the pseudonym of surgeons Kalpana Swaminathan and Ishrat Syed

THIS BOOK tracks the emergence of the Zika Congenital Syndrome, but it's also our journey to understand how an innocuous virus can turn virulent enough to kill or maim the next generation. The book is meant for everybody. We are all impacted by this threat that might destroy our children.

Over the last decade, we have examined the links between emerging diseases and environmental destruction with growing dismay. Our first book in this direction, Uncertain Life and Sure Death, examined Bombay's epidemics between the 16th century and the beginning of the 20th century. History has tediously repeated itself.

The Zika outbreak is different because of its wide geographic swathe, and the abrupt transformation of the pathogen. Zika virus once caused no more than a vague fever. Now it damages the developing foetal brain. As pediatric surgeons dealing with malformations, we found it particularly distressing that we know so little about how the Zika virus operates. We spent all of 2016 keeping track of new research and mining older information. A pattern emerged, too distinct to be ignored.

The experience of writing this book was humbling. We were shown, once again, how misguided we humans are in thinking we have sole rights over the planet. The emergence of Zika virus is nothing less than a planetary alarm. If our species continues to ravage the environment, we are indeed doomed to self destruct. We have not focused on the politics of science. Whatever policymakers might achieve, prevention and containment will depend on individual action. Transparency is everything. Once people have enough information, they will act with intelligence and with responsibility.