This is a book about doctors—a book about fighters against disease.
And even if you can’t stand the spectacle of blood or you don’t like the smell of iodine, don’t rush to close it. Because we are not talking about the kinds of medical professionals who treat you in a hospital or come to you when you call. The people the author invites you to meet are doctors of a special fate. They almost don’t treat. Their job is to prevent the very possibility of diseases. Day by day, mile by mile—by horse, by car, and even on foot—they examine the Earth. And all so that infection won’t spread through human settlements, so that it can be stopped at its very source.