I am loving this book! The only thing I dislike is the the fact that all these monkeys are dying :(. I have to give props to Nancy Jaxx for having the courage to enter the Level 4 air lock (gray area). It must have been quite intense if people perform rituals and carry charms before entering. This unresolved mystery of finding the origin of Ebola is keeping me on the edge of my seat! I feel like the Kenyan government waited way too long before coming to the realization to close the possibly-infectious Kitum Cave to tourists. This virus is truly demonic.
As powerful as Ebola is said to be, it astonishes me that its genetic code is simply made up of a single strand of RNA. "It is said to be the oldest and most primitive coding mechanism for life." This is fascinating! Now on to part 2!.....
I agree. I don't know why the African government took so long to close Kitum Cave. And why did it take so long for people to put two and two together to figure out that Kitum Cave was the source of a few outbreaks? When I was reading about Nancy Jaax, the whole time I was just thinking "Oh crap, another person is dead."
ReplyDeleteI agree, they waited FAR too long to close Kitum Cave. When I was reading the first chapter, even though I knew something bad was going to come from it, it's too bad that all that cool stuff they described has to be closed off though. Like how everything had turned into stone and crystalized. That part was seriously cool to read, but once they they got the virus....well let's just say I wouldn't be up to touring that area of Africa any time soon. And yeah the virus is seriously scary to think about. All of the ones they have talked about really. Also, you're right about NAncy entering the level 4 air lock! That would take some serious guts! I was trying to put myself in that situation and kept thinking, "Would I have had enough courage to do that?" I guess I'll never know! But party 2 here we come! :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame how many monkeys are being sacrificed in order to research the virus but I suppose there is no other way. It was such a disappointment that the research team was unable to isolate the virus in Kitum Cave after having strong evidence to believe they could finally find the virus in its natural carrier. Hopefully all the research and trials will eventually produce some understanding and ideally, a cure/prevention for the deadly filoviruses.
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