7/24/11
The Hot Zone, pages 109-198
Conveniently, dividing the book into three parts seems to divide it into three sections. The section I just read is “The Monkey House.” The Ebola Zaire virus (or simian fever) has made it to the US via 7-12-pound monkeys imported from the Philippines.
Once again, the people first dealing with the disease have no idea how bad it could be. The veterinarian who oversees the monkeys, Dan Dalgard, has not heard of Ebola prior to the Army’s personnel making him aware of it.
This section shows an evolving virus (I think—no resolution yet). Nancy Jaax, the Army veterinarian, cannot tell if she sees Ebola (species-jumping) or the Simian fever (not dangerous to humans). Gene Johnson, another scientist, ran a sample twice and the Ebola Zaire strand “glowed,” indicating that this virus was the one they had found in the imported monkeys.
This section explores the political issues that arise. Atlanta’s Center for Disease Control and the Army struggle over territorial issues. The monkeys were imported to a civilian organization, and so the Army has to negotiate access to the facility. Some of the scientists feel more competitive than united in the efforts. With this competition, I completely lose patience. Monkeys, free a month before, have been enslaved and ordered to their deaths, and the human population—who does not directly realize that it has allowed for the monkeys to be imported—is in grave danger (or not—this section is ambiguous), and scientists shame each other for not publishing or for taking control of the situation. Why in the world do they not see the greater good and act accordingly?
I wonder if the author has given an indication that this virus entering the US is our own fault, or if that is my bias. The details about how the monkeys are treated—even by caring, fairly compassionate workers—still seems unfair. The article “I am the Enemy” makes a good case for the value of animal testing, but it is not clear in this book that the cost to the animals is worth it. I learn that I lean to an “animals have equal rights” frame of mind.
The writing style remains overly simple and frequently repeats words and phrases; however, some passages are effective. On page 170, Preston explores the very questions I asked myself about what would have happened if someone had noticed HIV (or any disease, I guess) evolve. Could millions of lives have been spared? Another question I keep having is about the blinders we wear that prevent us from seeing epidemics—of disease or crime or belief—that ultimately harm us. I do not know if this book will be able to resolve these questions. Truly, I do not know if the Ebola virus now has a vaccine or not. At the very least, I hope to learn this information in the final section of the book.
