"From the Black Death of the fourteenth century to contemporary Ebola outbreaks and the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis, pandemics and disease outbreaks have devastated societies, wiped out significant portions of populations, and necessitated political, social, and scientific changes to address these public health catastrophes. What have scientists and policymakers learned from historical pandemics, and what can be done to prevent future outbreaks? Journalists, politicians, medical professionals, and other experts from a range of fields weigh in on how pandemics happen and potential means of controlling them"--.
