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On New Year’s Day in 1980, a man by the name of Charles Monet went on a trip with a friend up to Mt. Elgon in Kenya, where they spent the night on a nearby hillside. In the morning, they travelled to Kitum Cave; three days later Monet came down with a terrible headache, the first ever symptom of Ebola Zaire. First, he went to a small hospital in his area but they were unfortunately unable to diagnose him. He was forced to go to a larger hospital in Nairobi. All during his flight, he was throwing up blood and black liquid, known as black vomit. When he arrived at the hospital (on day nine of virus contraction), he immediately begins to crash and bleed out. This means that the lining of his intestines, lining of his stomach, tons of blood, and liquefied internal organs were pouring out of all body cavities. His disease was later diagnosed as a Marburg strain, a deadly virus with a 24%-88% fatality rate. After a few tribes in Sudan were almost completely wiped out, Gene Johnson decided it was time to step in and help; he eventually discovered Ebola Sudan. In Zaire, a missionary created to treat minor illnesses came in contact with an Ebola patient. One of the nuns became infected with the new strain and violently crashed and bled out in one of the hospital rooms. Samples of her blood were taken to labs everywhere to be studied.
Nancy Jaxx, wife to Jerry Jaxx and former veterinary pathologist, was called upon to analyze some samples that contained Ebola Zaire. After she discovered a hole in her ‘space suit’, a level four biohazard safety suit, she realized she had been exposed to the deadly virus. She eventually had to tell her husband, and he became upset with her; he didn’t like her getting up close and personal with level four viruses. At a research facility in Reston, Virginia, many monkeys became ill. After most of them were gone, the head veterinarian sent Nancy Jaxx and her team some samples to analyze before the new virus began to spread to the rest of Virginia. The illness ended up being a new strain of Ebola. The research facility had to be shut down immediately and everything inside had to be exterminated. After spraying the entire building and locking it up for three days, everything inside, from microscopic organisms to leftover monkeys, were killed. After that, the scientists returned to their daily lives.
Scientists around the world suspect Ebola’s origin to be Kitum Cave on Mt. Elgon. Richard Preston closes the book by visiting Kitum Cave himself, fully protected of course. Throughout his journey, he had not been looking for the origin of the virus, but for the origin of the book.
Nancy Jaxx, wife to Jerry Jaxx and former veterinary pathologist, was called upon to analyze some samples that contained Ebola Zaire. After she discovered a hole in her ‘space suit’, a level four biohazard safety suit, she realized she had been exposed to the deadly virus. She eventually had to tell her husband, and he became upset with her; he didn’t like her getting up close and personal with level four viruses. At a research facility in Reston, Virginia, many monkeys became ill. After most of them were gone, the head veterinarian sent Nancy Jaxx and her team some samples to analyze before the new virus began to spread to the rest of Virginia. The illness ended up being a new strain of Ebola. The research facility had to be shut down immediately and everything inside had to be exterminated. After spraying the entire building and locking it up for three days, everything inside, from microscopic organisms to leftover monkeys, were killed. After that, the scientists returned to their daily lives.
Scientists around the world suspect Ebola’s origin to be Kitum Cave on Mt. Elgon. Richard Preston closes the book by visiting Kitum Cave himself, fully protected of course. Throughout his journey, he had not been looking for the origin of the virus, but for the origin of the book.
My version of the coverMy version of the cover of the book, The Hot Zone, is reflective of the main ideas incorporated within the story. The larger picture is an electron microscope photograph of an actual Ebola virus. Above that, there is an image of a biohazard symbol that is made to look like a monkey. This is because of the monkey house and all of the monkeys that were tested; most of them died because they were exposed to the virus, Above that, we have the author and the title of the book.
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