I've always been fascinated by Ebola, ever since first hearing about it middle school and understanding the extent of the havoc it wreaks on the human body. It truly is a disgusting, intimidating disease that is respected purely out of fear. Once I found out we were reading a book on Ebola for a summer project, I was actually mildly excited and am happy to say that so far the book has not disappointed. Its ability to storytell from an objective perspective speaking almost solely to facts is something that I have not come across before in a novel. If the threat weren't so real and alarming, you could almost convince yourself that this was merely a fiction story told with a unique perspective. It's chilling to actually think of what would happen to you if you received the virus, how your insides would deteriorate and the blood would flow freely. Probably the most disgusting part of the book so far has been the black vomit and the thought of a doctor being "up to his elbows" in blood. Obviously a slight exaggeration, but still... that ish cray.
I had never heard of Marburg Virus before and had no idea that there were 3 "types" of Ebola. I'm not sure why but I was more shocked when I read that Marburg had only about a 60% kill rate than I was when I read that Ebola Zaire was 90%. I guess I just thought that any disease with these kind of symptoms was virtually fatal and to me, 60% just sounded low. In comparison to other diseases that is obviously still terrifying, but I suppose I just expected anything like Ebola to wipe-out it's host more consistently.
Anyways, I've read a bit further into the book and it's still quite interesting, so hopefully the trend continues. Fingers crossed.
I was also surprised when I found out about the different types of the disease. I had heard a little about Ebola before as well, but I was surprised at just how bad it can be.
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