New York Times reporter Donald McNeil’s new book begins with a mysterious illness that broke out in Brazil in March 2015. The rash and flu-like symptoms were temporary and few were hospitalized. When the Zika virus was pinned as the culprit, Brazil’s health minister brushed it aside as “a benign disease.” Then, nine months later, the babies arrived. Babies with tiny heads. McNeil’s new book tells the story of Zika and he joins us Thursday to assess the very real threat posed by the emerging epidemic.
Donald McNeil is a science reporter covering plagues and pestilence for the New York Times, where he began as a copy boy in 1976. His new book is called Zika: The Emerging Epidemic [Amazon|Indiebound].
