COVID-19 was the dystopian nightmare pandemic experts warned us about. How do we stop it from ever happening again?

COVID-19 catapulted us into a science-fiction scenario: seemingly overnight, literally billions of people around the globe had their lives upended by fear, uncertainty, bankruptcy, illness, or death. It killed millions of people, and cost the global economy trillions of dollars.

An outbreak of a new, deadly, highly contagious virus was inevitable. But an explosive global pandemic was not. There is hope, and as this book explains, a pandemic-free world is possible.

In The End of Epidemics, leading public health authority Dr Jonathan D. Quick tells the stories of the heroes, past and present, who have succeeded in their fights to stop the spread of illness and death. He explains the science and the politics of combatting epidemics. And he provides a detailed seven-part plan showing exactly how world leaders, health professionals, the business community, media, and ordinary citizens can work together to prevent epidemics, saving millions of lives and safeguarding our future.

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‘[Quick] rifles through the morass of preparedness and response initiatives and policy ideas that have arisen since 2014, synthesising a seven-point programme for epidemic prevention … Quick offers a humane, readable, coherent analysis for would-be health leaders and disease responders, organised simultaneously as a handy reference tool for crisis response, and an outbreak explainer that in parts, thanks to assisting science writer Bronwyn Fryer, sizzles … adept at identifying solutions: he finds hope in social mobilisation.’

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‘Informative ... Without excess alarmism, Quick and Fryer show that such factors as climate change, terrorism, and the global food system put the next pandemic just around the corner.’

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‘Pragmatic, insightful and research-rich, this is a key volume for the policymaker's shelf.’

"‘Sobering reading for public health officials and infectious disease students and perhaps inspiration for would-be activists to get busy. For general readers: get your flu shot.’" - Kirkus Reviews

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‘[S]even ways of preventing an infectious disease from reaching its pandemic potential … What makes [The End of Epidemics] a good, highly readable primer are its convincing examples and vivid human stories.’

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‘Dr. Quick's urgent message makes one hope that this book will reach a huge audience and that its exhortations will be acted on everywhere.’

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‘For readers interested in their own well-being and public health as well as ways to advocate for issues of great concern and urgency.’

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‘This detailed book not only breaks down the science behind killer viruses, but tells the stories of medical pioneers whose tireless work has prevented debilitating epidemics, and could even help put an end to them forever.’

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‘In The End of Epidemics, Quick and co-author Bronwyn Fryer spell out the seven biggest things we need to stop those outbreaks becoming epidemics. It is an impressive wish list … We could certainly use some of the advocacy for public health spending Quick calls for and — soon.’

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‘[An] informed, cogent and — honestly — frightening book.’