Viral: The Search for the Origin of Covid-19

The most incisive and authoritative book about the search for the source of Covid-19.

“A viral whodunnit that is sure to appeal to armchair detectives.”—Guardian

“Chan and Ridley write with an urgency that inspires gripping depictions of what viruses are, how infectious-disease laboratories work and wonderfully lucid descriptions of bats. . . . They powerfully recount how dangerous pathogens can both leak from a lab and emerge in nature.”—New York Times Book Review

In this page-turner that reads like a detective novel, genetic engineering expert Dr. Alina Chan and renowned science writer Matt Ridley use their formidable skills to scrutinize arguments and rigorously analyze the sprawling data surrounding the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19.

Viral is a fascinating account that takes in pangolins, horseshoe bats, internet sleuths, and misleading scientific papers. It details the evidence and investigates several hypotheses for the virus’s origin, chief among them a potential laboratory leak or a natural spillover.

Science has made great strides over the last decades. Chan and Ridley provide insight into pathogen research and virus hunting around the world, while asking what scientists can do to make this work safer. They argue that whatever the source of the virus, the world needs to adopt new policies and strategies to prevent or mitigate future outbreaks.

Set in the caves and mineshafts, food markets and wildlife smugglers’ stores, laboratories, and databases of China and other countries, Viral is the most far-reaching, thorough, and balanced account of the search for the source of Covid-19.