Welcome!

Welcome to my new GERMS blog!  I decided to name the blog as a tribute to Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg, and William Broad, who, about 10 years ago, wrote a book of the same title that scared the bejabbers out of me!

Miller, et. al. made me aware of a world of unseen, silent killers and how these were being harnessed to produce biological weapons.  The authors made reference to Richard Preston, who has also written some scary fiction and non-fiction about viruses and bacteria.  And how could I not mention Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six?

One cannot talk about biological weapons without mentioning naturally occurring pathogens.  Some of these have received a great deal of press coverage, while others have received none.  In some cases, pathogens have received very little press coverage because treatment is very simple.  There is a TV star who has been quietly working in Haiti to de-worm children.  It is such a simple procedure, but it makes such a difference in the lives of the children affected!

I hope that this forum can serve as a resource for alleviating human suffering from infectious diseases, especially the ones that are so easily prevented!

Jon