The chickens fight back : pandemic panics and deadly diseases that jump from animals to humans / David Waltner-Toews.

Vancouver : Greystone Books, [2007], ©2007.

246 pages ; 23 cm

Includes bibliographical references (p. 231-234) and index.

[pt. 1]. Of pandemic panic -- 1. An image looking for a story -- 2. Epidemics, pandemics, and zoonoses : an introduction -- [pt. 2]. And scurrying beasties -- 3. Plagues, rats, and the perfection of fleas -- 4. The world looking at itself -- 5. Biting flies, kissing bugs, and sleeping sickness -- [pt. 3]. Of singing and flight -- 6. Western equine encephalitis, television, and air conditioning -- 7. West Nile Virus and the St. Louis Blues -- 8. The chickens fight back -- [pt. 4]. And things that go bump in the night -- 9. Out of nowhere : Nipah Virus and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome -- 10. The darkness bleeds in : Lassa, Ebola, and Marburg -- 11. Splashing through rat piss : leptospires and hantaviruses -- 12. All the rage -- [pt. 5]. With all our most constant companions -- 13. Abortion in the sandbox and other pet problems -- 14. Poker players' pneumonia -- 15. Bang's disease and the White Plague -- 16. Dog parasites in the land of the gods -- [pt. 6]. Shall we tell our tales of woe and delight -- 17. The meaning of Pulcher's omen -- Selected readings -- Acknowledgments -- Index.