The Hot Zone, 3rd ed. (Electronic Version)
I.
1. Centers for Disease Control
a) Page 159, 1st paragraph
b) It is referred to in the book when it indicated that the main role ofthe Army is to fight military threats while the Centers for Disease Controlshould have the responsibility and authority to fight diseases.
c) Centers for Disease Control means government agencies that protect public health through the control and prevention of diseases and the investigation and prevention of emerging diseases.
2. Amplification
a) Page 12, 2nd paragraph
b) It is referred to in the book when explaining the concept of virusmultiplication.
c) Amplification isthe fast multiplication of virus particles suchthat the virus tries to convert the host in which it resides to itself.
3. Emerging virus
a) Page 267, 2nd paragraph
b) The book explains the concept of emerging viruses and how they getcreated and are spread
c) Emerging viruses are created because of the destruction of tropicalforest areas and the increase in urbanization of the earth.
4. Sterilization
a) Page 256, 2ndparagraph
b) The book explains how the monkey house was sterilized.
c) Sterilization is the killing of all viruses that exist by physical, chemical, or physiochemical ways and not just the ones that caused the disease (Rao).
5. Index case
a) Page 66, 1st paragraph
b) The book refers to Mr. Yu. G. as the index case of the Ebola virus in Sudan.
c) Index case refers to the first case of a disease that is caused by an unknown virusand that becomes widespread.
6. Hot Zone
a) Page 46, 3rd paragraph
b) The book refers to Hot Zone in the event of Ms. Nancy Jaax who wentinto the Hot Zone of the Ebola virus.
c) Hot Zone is a place that is contaminated due to hazardousbiological, chemical, or nuclear agents. One has to gear up inspecial equipment to enter it.
7. USAMRIID
a) Page 38, 4thparagraph
b) The book refers to USAMRIID in the part where Ms. Nancy Jaax isgoing to the institute and a description of the USAMRIID functions is given.
c) USAMRIID stands for the United States Army Medical Research Instituteof Infectious Diseases. It plays a role in medical defensethrough the conduct of research, the development of vaccines, and the protection ofsoldiers against biological warfare and infectious diseases.
8. Virus
a) Page 2,1stparagraph
b) The book explains about the viruses referred to in the book, theirincubation period, survival, and preservation techniques, which are used forresearch.
c) Avirus is an organism that needs other living cells to keep italive and to enable it to replicate. Viruses cause many diseases in humans (“Definition of Virus”).
9. Host
a) Page 12, 2ndparagraph
b) The book explains that a virus houses itself in another livingthing and starts replicating.
c) The host is the organism in which the virus settles and multipliesand that the organism uses for food and shelter.
10. Agent
a) Page 16, 3rdparagraph
b) It is detailed howthe agent affects Monet.
c) An agent is a virus or bacterium that can affect human health in various ways.
11. Vector
a) Page 77, 1st paragraph
b) Nancy Mayinga became a vector of a life threatening disease.
c) Vector is a carrier of an infectious agent.
12. Species threatening event
a) Page 77, 1stparagraph
b) The author is contemplating if the infection in Nurse Mayinga is aspecies threatening event.
c) A species threatening event can harm an entirespecies of living things in an area
13. Epidemiology
a) Page 28, 3rd paragraph
b) The book implies that the WHO team did not connect with the monkeydoctor, which is bad epidemiology.
c) Epidemiology is the study of population health and diseases in which the information gained is used to control diseases.
14. Outbreak
a) Page 30, 2ndparagraph
b) The book says how monkeys were kept together in cramped cages, leading to infections becoming rampant.
c) Outbreak means too many cases of a disease occurring in a definedarea or population.
15. Mutations
a) Page 29, 3rdparagraph
b) The word is referred to while explaining the appearance of the AIDSvirus in humans.
c) Mutations refer to changes in the DNA of an organism (“What is Mutation?”).
16. Level 4 hot agent
a) Page 41, 2nd paragraph
b) In the book, it is mentioned when Nancy's job profile of working withbiological agents is explained.
c) A Level 4 hot agent is a virus that is lethal, contagious, and hasno cure or vaccine yet.
17. Field epidemiology
a) Page 42, 4th paragraph
b) The book pertained to the practitioner instead of the discipline itself.
c) A study of viral diseases in the wild
18. Incubation period
a) Page 125, 2nd paragraph
b) Giesbert put the cells infected with the simian fever virus in the centrifuge machine in a plastic resin for some tests.
c) Incubation period is the time taken by a virus to replicate and lead to symptoms of an infection.
19. Case fatality rate
a) Page 164, 3rdparagraph
b) In the book, the case fatality rate of the Marburg rate is discussed.
c) It is the rate at which affected people die from a disease.
20. Quarantine
a) Page 31, 3rd paragraph
b) In the book, Nairobi hospital was shut down and people were quarantined.
c) Quarantine is the isolation of infected people to control the spread of a disease.
21. Contagious
a) Page 3, 1st paragraph
b) The book presented a disclaimer about contagious diseases.
c) The word describes how quick a disease can spread.
22. Latency period
a) Page 259, 5th paragraph
b) The book talked about the latency period of a guy who was exposed to a virus.
c) It is the time interval between disease exposure and the appearance of symptoms
23. Shedding virus
a) Page 259, 5th paragraph
b)This term came with latency period
c) It pertains to scattering the virus and thus, possibly infecting others.
24. Mortality rate
a) Page 204, 3rd paragraph
b) The book presented statistics including those on mortality rates
c) It is the likelihood percentage of dying
25. World Health Organization (WHO)
a) Page 78, 1st paragraph
b) A story in the book was alarming that it reached the WHO
c)A worldwide body of officials, research, and funding for macro-scale health issues.
26. Airborne transmission
a) Page 225, 5th paragraph
b) A man got Ebola possibly through airborne transmission
c) It pertains to the capability of a disease to infect others through air
27. Jumped species
a) Page 24, 4th paragraph
b) The book described the Marburgagent jumped species.
c) The disease infected another type of species.
II.
1. Before the statement, the story tells about Charles Monet who explored caves with a friend. Monet fell ill. When his colleagues noticed his absence, they visited his bungalow and saw him barely moving. Thus, they drove for him and went to the doctor. However, the doctor recommended them to go to the best private hospital in Nairobi, East Africa. He caught the flight towards the city (Preston 11).
This is when the statement is presented. It expresses the power of the virus that it can endure a day of travel. The virus itself could travel to another person, as the clock ticks. That person would likely experience the same symptoms. Sooner, more people would get infected. The implication of this situation is the possibility of spreading the virus throughout a city in just a day.
2. From the story of the monkey house, monkeys died in the building from Ebola. At the time, there were four caretakers. One accidentally cut his thumb while performing necropsy. His colleagues thought he would soon die from being directly exposed to the host but he’s still alive. The other caretakers were infected through the air. Nonetheless, they, too, are alive. It was a mystery why it didn’t affect them (Preston 257-261).
With this, the statement meant that the virus might have mutated as it travels to different hosts. The changes in the genetic make-up of the Ebola strain rendered high risk for the monkeys while relatively harmless for the humans. As for the implication, it could get more difficult to pacify this kind of virus if it turned deadly and if an outbreak ever happens. By that time, the structure of the strain would have changed. At the same time, formulating a general cure would likely not match these changes. In this regard, a cure may be different from one host to another.
3. The statement describes the possible changes that are also happening in the planet. If the earth was a human, its body is starting to realize that it’s under attack by five billion creatures. Thus, its immune system responds in such a way that those creatures would be contained. In this case, we are referred to as the creatures that are living on earth like a parasite and this is the earth’s way of getting rid of its parasites. Meanwhile, the earth’s immune response referred to the development of the virus against humans (Preston 269).
The implication received here is that not until we change for the better especially towards the earth, we are putting ourselves in danger. Life is truly a cycle. What we do would come back to us in one way or another.
4. The first possible explanation is negligence during experimentations. Based on the book, particularly the monkey house story, the Center for Disease Control allowed the man who had cut himself and got infected to go about his life as if nothing happened (Preston 259). He’s supposed to be quarantined to prevent infecting the innocent, especially the children. The implication of this scenario is that scientific research leaves the public in grave threat while the authorities have little care about it. By the time they take notice, it would likely be for profit.
In connection to the first theory and implication, the outbreak may probably be intentional. Those who are handling these diseases are backed-up by mega companies. What they probably do is study the strain and once they find a cure, they would spread it. When people get sick, they would present the cure, which people would buy. It’s another multi-billion dollar business for such companies.The implication in this case is that the worsening lives of people may result when power amongst the few gets out of hand. Instead of using research to improve lives, it is being used to destroy them.
Works Cited
“Definition of virus.” MedicineNet.com.Web. 19 Mar. 2012.
<http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5997>.
Preston, Richard. “The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story.” Random House.
Rao, Sridhar. “Sterilization and Disinfection.”www.microrao.com. Web. June, 2008.
<http://www.microrao.com/micronotes/sterilization.pdf>.
“What is Mutation?” Learn. Genetics. Web. n.d.
<http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/variation/mutation/>.
