The destructive power of pandemics has been demonstrated time and time again throughout human history. In his book Plagued: pandemics from the Black Death to COVID-19 and beyond, John Froude writes “They have been with us since the beginning, and they are still with us”. Since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek first saw bacteria through the light microscope in 1668, we have discovered vast amounts of new information about pathogens. In the last two decades alone. microbiologists have unearthed new information at an impressive speed and it is said that we are living in the golden age of virology. Nevertheless, the resulting pandemics continue to wreak havoc on our societies with us acting as their “supporting force”. Writing through one of the worst pandemics in recent years, John Froude, an infectious disease specialist, delivers a fascinating and somewhat harrowing in-depth history of plagues from Black Death to the present COVID-19 pandemic. He offers his reader an opportunity to learn from the past and in doing so helps us to see how to move forward in a world we must share with deadly pathogens.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00350-9

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