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Let’s start right off with a brief quiz. How many times have you eaten live polio virus—on purpose?

a) Once was enough for me.

b) Three times, of course!

c) Are you kidding me?

B is the correct answer, of course! Did you know that most infants in North America are fed three strains of live polio as a way to prevent polio infection in the future? It sounds incredible and kind of dangerous, but it’s true—and it works.

Here’s how it works. As an infant, you were most likely fed vaccine strains, or special weakened strains, of polio to teach your immune system what polio looks like. Your immune system remembers this and can quickly and effectively kill any subsequent polio that it may encounter. The vaccine strains are called “live” because they actually colonize your intestines for several days and reproduce many copies of themselves, just like a does. In this way you are “vaccinated against polio.”

This discovery, and the discovery made in the eighteenth century that deliberate infection of healthy people with certain strains of cowpox virus (from a cow!), could prevent smallpox in humans, is a cornerstone in the foundation of modern medicine and has allowed for the total worldwide eradication of smallpox, with polio soon to follow.

Consider that there were only 1,315 cases of polio infection worldwide in 2007. Compare this with the more than 58,000 people infected in 1952 during the last polio epidemic in the United States. Moreover, it is estimated that more than 20 million people were infected worldwide between 1840 and 1950.

The discovery of vaccines for eradicating these extraordinarily successful pathogens represents monumental human achievements that will have to be replicated in the future as new threats emerge. Where will the next threat come from?

The answers to these and other compelling questions are the driving force behind the creation of this book. Your immune system is your ultimate guardian, and the success of vaccines relies entirely on your ability to mount an effective immune response when faced with danger. When I first started my career as a research scientist and professor in the department of micro- biology and immunology at the University of British Columbia, I taught a course in virology (the study of viruses) to two hundred or so senior students at eight in the morning. I began most lectures with a question such as the one above, or with this one:

How many of you have been infected with herpes?

I would raise my own hand and ask, “All of us?” The students would slump down in their seats. Some looked around at each other. A few giggled. Several looked shocked. The question was certainly provocative and woke them up, as was my intent!

When I followed up with, “How many of you have had chicken pox?” they all raised their hands but were still confused. It was a bit of a trick question. Many types of herpes viruses infect humans. Chicken pox is caused by a herpes virus, varicella zoster, which is similar to the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores. I knew that 95 percent or more of my students would have had chicken pox while growing up. Therefore, virtually all them had been previously infected with a herpes virus! They were indeed happy to learn this.

This book is designed to wake you up as well. Our goal is to provide answers to important questions you may have about your immune system, infections, cancer, autoimmunity, and what you can do to stay healthy.

The battle between viruses and our immune system is an ancient one that is still raging. Why are certain viruses potentially deadly (Ebola, HIV), while others are merely a nuisance (the cold virus, for example)? Which virus can cause cancer? Can this be prevented? Can your immune system prevent cancer?

Fortunately, as you will learn from this book, our immune system has some pretty sophisticated weapons for fighting back, especially if it is working at its peak. We know that stress, poor diet, lack of sleep, and even medications can weaken the immune system.

We also know that your immune system’s effectiveness increases from birth until the teenage years but then undergoes a subtle decline throughout the rest of your life. This decline leads to impairment in coping with infectious agents that can cause disease and illness. This book will suggest ways to stay strong.

Scientists are also beginning to take advantage of the destructive nature of viruses to develop potent new virus-based drugs to kill diseases such as cancer. As an example, for the past thirteen years I have worked with my colleagues on developing herpes simplex viruses for treating brain tumors. Yes, it is possible to genetically modify viruses in the research laboratory to harness their ability to kill certain cells (that’s what a cold sore is—certain cells dying), while not killing others. If we can make viruses kill only cancer cells in the brain without killing normal brain tissue, that could be a potent new therapy for this deadly disease.

Finally, we’ll look at the effectiveness of a balanced approach to treating health-related issues, in an approach known as “integrative medicine,” in which we include the best of both conventional therapies and alternative treatments from other cultures.

I have called on several world-renowned experts in immunology, virology, and vaccines to help ask and answer some important questions. Much of the book relies on a question-and-answer format, because we want you to easily find topics that are important to you.

We believe you will find this book both informative and enjoyable, and the next time someone asks you something like, “How can I get the flu if I was just vaccinated?” you will be able to say, “I just read this great book. . . .”

This information presented in this blog, is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional. Always consult with your healthcare professional before undertaking or making any changes to any regimen or changing your diet. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information presented in this blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.