The Hot Zone: Part Two and Three

Part Two of The Hot Zone is where the book really picked up for me. I am amazed at the amount of work it takes to simply identify a virus outbreak. The amount of uncertainty and anticipation in this part of the book made it very intriguing. One of my favorite events in this part of the book is when Geisbert goes back into work after Thanksgiving only to find that his cell specimen contained a filovirus, ensuing panic within him. I was slightly distraught by the bureaucratic manner in which this outbreak was handled by the government, specifically the part where the Jahrling, Peters, and McCormick were presenting this, and the outcome was a game of favorites based on past experiences. This shouldn't have been what was important. It should have been the task at hand.


Part Three of The Hot Zone was the best part of the book by far. The outbreak of Ebola had become known to the public and was now in the spotlight. The government was furiously trying to control and assess the situation to prevent the deadly virus (which has no vaccine) from spreading anywhere. What I found most interesting was how this operation to go in and control the hot zone was carried out next to a children's playground, where kids played unknowing of the sacks of amplified ebola virus that were once monkeys lay within mere feet of them. The danger of this operation allowed no room to screw up.  I would have been so terrified to be Dan Dalgard and come across Milton Frantig vomiting his stomach out, knowing that the man is probably going to die. The part where the monkey was loose from the containment room jumping around and avoiding Jerry and Sgt. Amen gave me a good laugh, although that stopped when they had it pinned down and a ebola blood clot the size of a baseball began forming in the injection site.