11.37

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY is a fascinating book - clearly written and packed full of amazing little factoids: how viruses are different from bacteria (and newspapers show a wanton disregard for the classification); how they are spread through skin and blood contact, or travel through the air on aerosols produced and propelled by sneezes and coughs; and how dreadful infections such as yellow fever and dengue fever are spread from monkeys to humans via mosquitoes - and as the earth warms so the mosquitoes will find new and vulnerable hosts (as has already happened with the recent case of blue tongue disease in famr animals in the UK).

It is chilling stuff. Not terribly appropriate bedtime reading so maybe it is a good thing I am staying up!