Via Emerging Infectious Diseases: Ahead of Print -Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti. The review concludes:
As long as the reader is aware that there are other, well-supported, points of view from scientists with an equal dedication to control of cholera in Haiti, the book is of value in recording the events of this massive epidemic and the factors that led to its occurrence, from the vantage point of one of the major scientific investigators in Haiti at the time.
However, the tone of the book and its tendency to see all events (and science) from the viewpoint of a single investigator/investigative group is not ideal and detracts from the impact that the work might otherwise have had. Science does have its controversies and infighting, and intermingling of scientific and political issues is inevitable; however, one might hope that our goal, as scientists, would be to resolve controversies with better science, while minimizing acrimony.
Unfortunately, this book, with its focus on possible cover-ups and “suspect theories,” does not move us in this direction.
As a supporter of Dr. Piarroux, I find the review somewhat defensive in tone. If the reviewer had made an effort to demolish the idea of "cover-ups," and found serious flaws in Frerichs and Piarroux's rejection of the "cholera paradigm," the review would be more persuasive. My own Tyee review of Deadly River is here.
