Dr. Rieux and Grand meet with the police inspector for the inquiry into Cottard's attempted suicide. Next, author Laurie Garrett discusses the outbreak of Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever in Machupo, as mice were discovered to be the transmitters of the disease. Rieux's asthma patient speculates that the disease is an outbreak of cholera, noting that people seem nervous and jittery. The Plague is a novel about a plague epidemic in the large Algerian city of Oran. Most of the cases are fatal. Prior to the epidemic, he was alone in his fear. Accompanied by Cottard, he reports to Dr. Rieux that the number of deaths is on the rise. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance from, Order our The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance Study Guide, Chapter 2: Health Transition and Chapter 3: Monkey Kidneys and the Ebbing Tides, Chapter 7: N'zara and Chapter 8: Revolution, Chapter 9: Microbe Magnets and Chapter 10: Distant Thunder, Chapter 11: Hatari: Vinidogodogo and Chapter 12: Feminine Hygiene, Chapter 15: All in Good Haste and Chapter 16: Nature and Homo Sapiens, teaching or studying The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. When Dr. Rieux urges the head of the medical association, Dr. Richard, to order any new cases of the disease into isolation wards, Dr. Richard insists that the Prefect must issue the order. Dr. Rieux realizes that human beings have too much faith in rationality to really appreciate the threat of an impending catastrophe. The newspapers that made such a fuss over the rats are strangely silent regarding the disease. However, the man who promised him the possibility of advancement has long since died, and Grand is unsure of the specifics of his promises. A spate of rainy weather produces a "moody listlessness" in the population with the exception of Dr. Rieux's asthma patient who welcomes it as a curative for his asthma. Dr. Rieux urges that immediate measures to deal with problem be taken because he fears the disease could kill off half the city. Cottard tried to speak to him several times, but he never succeeds in communicating his fear of being arrested. Garrett points out, however, that the infrastructure of the area, decimated by industrialization, played an important role in the increase in the mice population. In both cases, again, it is clear that poverty and political instability led to a more rapid spread of the disease. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett. This obsession causes them to be indifferent to the suffering of people around them. "Peace of mind" for most people in Oran means not having to deal with the suffering of other people. A sharp spike in deaths finally prompts the authorities to declare a state of plague and quarantine the town. The Plague concerns an outbreak of bubonic plague in the French-Algerian port city of Oran, sometime in the 1940s. Grand reports that Cottard keeps acting as if he has something weighing on his conscience. They can reside in … Although Grand is obsessed with learning how to communicate, he is going about it in the wrong way. As spring settles on Oran, people continue to lead their lives as they always do. The inspector chastises Cottard for disturbing other people's peace. Death is always a collective catastrophe because it is humankind's collective fate. The asthma patient, as a voice of the general public, remarks that the disease is probably an outbreak of cholera, a far less serious illness. This indicates that the paltry measures taken by the city government have not been terribly effective. The serum for the plague is long in coming, and Dr. Rieux finally realizes that he is afraid. He works alone on his book and his Latin, but he does not communicate with other people around him. Rieux notices the sudden appearance of dying rats around town, and soon thousands of rats are coming out into the open to die. First published in 1994 in hardcover by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, THE COMING PLAGUE: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance was a New York Times bestseller in 1994-5. When the serum arrives, it is adequate to deal only with the immediate cases. Even when the government posts warnings all over the city, the posters are unobtrusive. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. The serum for the plague is long in coming, and Dr. Rieux finally realizes that he is afraid. Dr. Rieux intuits that Grand is trying to write a book. Even though he has personally seen several fatal cases, the events seem unreal even to him. An old man periodically comes out onto a balcony opposite Tarrou's hotel room to spit on the cats sunning themselves below. Its choice of victims is completely impartial--there is no rational or moral reason why people like Grand should or should not die from the plague. The first-person narrator is unnamed but mostly follows Dr. Bernard Rieux. Castel understands the obstinacy of the city government and his colleagues. Tarrou writes about a family of four with a disagreeable, strict father, … Chapter 14 discusses the epidemic of social structure, as thirdworldization is looked at in detail, explaining how even modern countries are stepping backward in the fight against disease. This Study Guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - However, there is no rational or moral meaning behind a plague epidemic. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. However, those with money do find it easier to keep to a higher standard of living and inoculate themselves slightly more than the poor. As he recalls vivid, horrifying historical accounts of plague epidemics, Dr. Rieux braces himself for the possibility of another one. Our study guide has summaries, insightful analyses, and everything else you need to understand The Plague. In Chapter 3, Garrett examines the Margurg virus, yellow fever, and the Brazilian Meningitis epidemic, again stressing the infrastructural issues that helped cause the spread of the diseases. Wars and plagues are not rational, logical disasters. Chapter 11 is Garrett's extensive examination of the origin of HIV, which explains in detail why the disease spread as rapidly as it did. When the serum arrives, … Dr. Rieux feels that the situation calls for an attitude of all or nothing. Dr. Rieux thinks it is unimaginable that a city with harmless people like Grand could be subject to a deadly plague epidemic. Next, Garrett examines the "Health Transition," or the push in the 1950s and '60s to eradicate all infectious disease. Visit BN.com to buy new and used textbooks, and check out our award-winning NOOK tablets and eReaders. The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to The authorities finally arrange for the daily collection and cremation of the rats. Soon thereafter, M. Michel, the concierge for the building where Dr. Rieux … Therefore, he has never written a letter of protest demanding that the promises made to him be kept. Finally, Dr. Rieux demands that the Prefect take real measures to address the rising epidemic. Meanwhile, his colleagues wage war against the "wait and see" attitude of the city's government. It might seem that Cottard's delight in the plague is due to his participation in the profitable smuggling trade that it spawns.