Book Report: The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
In October of l989, Macaque monkeys, housed at the Reston Primate
Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia, began dying from a mysterious disease at an
alarming rate. The monkeys, imported from the Philippines, were to be sold as
laboratory animals. Twenty-nine of a shipment of one hundred died within a month.
Dan Dalgard, the veterinarian who cared for the monkeys, feared they were dying
from Simian Hemorrhagic Fever, a disease lethal to monkeys but harmless to
humans. Dr. Dalgard decided to enlist the aid of the United States Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) to help diagnose the case.
On November 28th, Dr. Peter Jahlring of the Institute was in his lab testing a
virus culture from the monkeys. Much to his horror, the blood tested positive
for the deadly Ebola Zaire virus. Ebola Zaire is the most lethal of all strains
of Ebola. It is so lethal that nine out of ten of its victims die. Later, the
geniuses at USAMRIID found out that it wasn't Zaire, ! but a new strain of Ebola,
which they named Ebola Reston. This was added to the list of strains: Ebola
Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and now, Reston. These are all level-four hot viruses. That
means there are no vaccines and there are no cures for these killers.
In 1976 Ebola climbed out of its primordial hiding place in the jungles
of Africa, and in two outbreaks in Zaire and Sudan wiped out six hundred people.
But the virus had never been seen outside of Africa and the consequences of
having the virus in a busy suburb of Washington DC is too terrifying to
contemplate. Theoretically, an airborne strain of Ebola could emerge and circle
the world in about six weeks. Ebola virus victims usually "crash and bleed," a
military term which literally means the virus attacks every organ of the body
and transforms every part of the body into a digested slime of virus particles.
A big point that Preston wanted to get across was the fact that the public
thinks that... [continues]
In October of l989, Macaque monkeys, housed at the Reston Primate
Quarantine Unit in Reston, Virginia, began dying from a mysterious disease at an
alarming rate. The monkeys, imported from the Philippines, were to be sold as
laboratory animals. Twenty-nine of a shipment of one hundred died within a month.
Dan Dalgard, the veterinarian who cared for the monkeys, feared they were dying
from Simian Hemorrhagic Fever, a disease lethal to monkeys but harmless to
humans. Dr. Dalgard decided to enlist the aid of the United States Army Medical
Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) to help diagnose the case.
On November 28th, Dr. Peter Jahlring of the Institute was in his lab testing a
virus culture from the monkeys. Much to his horror, the blood tested positive
for the deadly Ebola Zaire virus. Ebola Zaire is the most lethal of all strains
of Ebola. It is so lethal that nine out of ten of its victims die. Later, the
geniuses at USAMRIID found out that it wasn't Zaire, ! but a new strain of Ebola,
which they named Ebola Reston. This was added to the list of strains: Ebola
Zaire, Ebola Sudan, and now, Reston. These are all level-four hot viruses. That
means there are no vaccines and there are no cures for these killers.
In 1976 Ebola climbed out of its primordial hiding place in the jungles
of Africa, and in two outbreaks in Zaire and Sudan wiped out six hundred people.
But the virus had never been seen outside of Africa and the consequences of
having the virus in a busy suburb of Washington DC is too terrifying to
contemplate. Theoretically, an airborne strain of Ebola could emerge and circle
the world in about six weeks. Ebola virus victims usually "crash and bleed," a
military term which literally means the virus attacks every organ of the body
and transforms every part of the body into a digested slime of virus particles.
A big point that Preston wanted to get across was the fact that the public
thinks that... [continues]
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