As I've said before, my mom influenced my reading growing up. Being a fast reader, I read what was lying around. You could always guarantee that somewhere in our house was Robin Cook thriller — Outbreak being one of my favorites. As I've gotten older, I haven't lost my love for virology stories. For me, the horror of them lies in the ability for it to become truth. As advanced as our medical field is, there is still the ability for a lowly little microbe to not only triumph over us but to do with devastatingly quick certainty. For example, all it takes is a quick search to discover that ebola is still alive and well. Sure, we don't hear much about in the first world countries, but it's still out there, wreaking havoc and killing indeterminately. Global efforts to manage epidemics are documented all the way back to the black plague in 14th century Europe, closing borders and causing panic. Sure, we've managed to create vaccines for many of the pestilent diseases that tormented centuries ago and bubonic plague, which killed 60% of Europe in the 14th century, can be cured with a simple course of antibiotics, but what happens when something new emerges? That's what the Red Death ponders.

Read more at Cats Luv Coffee