Читать книгу Modern Epidemics - Salvador Macip - Страница 12

We humans have managed to escape from our predators. In the security of urban settings, we don’t have to worry about being devoured by lions, tigers or other carnivores that are stronger and faster than we are. As a result, we’ve successfully occupied all the ecosystems and multiply like no other animal has ever done before. We therefore tend to think we are invulnerable, at least when it comes to competing with other inhabitants of the Earth for our everyday survival.

This idea couldn’t be more wrong. We are immersed in a constant struggle against an adversary so powerful it can eliminate the human race in a matter of months. Indeed, it’s been on the point of doing so more than once. I refer to microorganisms, our invisible enemies, the millions of microscopic beings sharing our habitat, the bacteria, viruses and many other minuscule life forms with which we have a very special love–hate relationship. Thanks to them, we’re alive. Because of them, some 14 million people die every year. Why are we still vulnerable to such infinitesimal organisms? This chapter will introduce the main kinds of microbes and describe how they interact with humans.