Book Report the Hot Zone by Richard Preston Essay

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†¦show more content†¦Preston shows how Ebola and Marburg (a close relative of Ebola) is one hundred times more contagious, one hundred times as lethal, and one hundr! ed times as fast as HIV. Ebola does in ten days what it takes HIV ten years to accomplish, wrote Richard Preston. The virus, though, has a hard time spreading, because the victims usually die before contact with a widespread amount of civilians. If there were to be another outbreak in North America, the results would be unspeakable. Upon reading The Hot Zone, one could easily believe that this compelling yet terrifying story sprang from the imaginations of Stephen King or Michael Crichton. But the frightening truth is that the events actually occurred and that could-be-catastrophe was avoided by the combined heroic efforts of various men and women from USAMRIID and the Center for Disease Control. Preston writes compassionately and admiringly of the doctors, virologists and epidemiologists who are the real-life Indiana Jones of the virus trail. Some like Dr. Joe McCormick, Karl Johnson, and CJ Peters spent years tracking down deadly viruses in the jungles of South America and Africa, some narrowly escaping death. Their work is filled with courage, brilliance and sometimes petty rivalries. Others, like Dr. Nancy Jaax have lived rather conventional lives, aside from the fact that they don a space suit and work with highly lethal viruses on a regular basis. Preston has written aShow MoreRelatedA History of the Ebola Virus Essay example2243 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"The earth is attempting to rid itself of an infection by human parasite.†Ã‚   ―Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone, speaking about Ebola Ebola is the deadliest viral disease by bleeding. It is known to attack everything in the human body, but the skeletal muscle and bone. The name Ebola comes for the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Dudley 22) The Ebola Virus is one of the two members of the filovirus family. (Ryan 244) The other member of the family is hemorrhagicRead MoreThe Hot Zone9599 Words   |  39 PagesThe Hot Zone Summary | Part 1, Chapter 1 Something in the Forest Summary Chapter one introduces the reader to Charles Monet. He is a French expatriate working on a sugar plantation in western Kenya. The story begins on New Years Day, 1980, when Charles and a woman take an overnight trip to Mount Elgon, a formerly active volcano. During their trip, they visit Kitum Cave. After returning to his quiet life, Monet becomes ill. The reader knows that he is experiencing a catastrophic illness, but CharlesRead MoreThe Demon in the Freezer Essays12595 Words   |  51 PagesAbstract The first major bioterror event in the United States--the anthrax attacks in October 2001--was a clarion call for scientists who work with hot agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. 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Page 44 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Section One Costs of Layoffs Table 1-2 Source: Adapted from Dan L. Ward. â€Å"Layoffs: What Does Flexibility Really Cost,† in Richard J. Niehaus and Karl F. Price (Eds.), Creating the Competitive Edge through Human Resource Applications. New York: Plenum Press, 1988, pp. 169–91. Page 45 STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Section One Avoiding Business Cycle–Based Layoffs Read MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pagesterms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Typeset by SPI Publisher ServicesRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesSuzanne Duda Lead Media Project Manager: Denise Vaughn Full-Service Project Management: Sharon Anderson/BookMasters, Inc. Composition: Integra Software Services Printer/Binder: Edwards Brothers Cover Printer: Coral Graphics Text Font: 10/12 Weidemann-Book Credits and acknowledgments borrowed from other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2011, 2007, 2005, 2002, 1998 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, One