Ebola Virus In A Walk In The Woods And The Hot Zone

Richard Preston’s novel The Hot Zone, was based on a true story about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, mainly the Ebola and Marburg viruses. It primarily focuses on the Ebola virus’ first documented outbreak during the 1980s. As you read The Hot Zone, you will notice that it has been divided into four individual segments. The first segment looks into the history of filoviruses, and how AIDS emerged. The novel begins with Charles Monet, an elderly man who travels to Kitum Cave in Kenya. After coming in contact with an odd liquid substance, he begins to experience symptoms of the Marburg Virus (abbreviated as “MARV”), which includes; headaches, backaches, internal organs failing, and excessive bleeding. Monet travels to the Nairobi Hospital and ends up infecting the young Doctor that treated him. Years after Monet’s passing, a young pathologist named Nancy Jaax is introduced. Her story was told in her point of view as she describes the Introduction to Viruses, Biosafety Levels, and

In Bryson’s story ,A Walk in the Woods Bryson uses similes, imagery and humor to describe his reasoning of going in to the woods. A Walk in the Woods has a tone of reverent which corresponds with his desire to venture into the woods. Bryson compares the Appalachian Mountains to a grandfather, “The AT is the granddaddy of long hikes”. By his comparison of the Appalachian Mountains to a grandfather gives the reader that mountains to him was like a matriarch of a family that was the foundation to all hikes that came after it.

In his book The Hot Zone, Richard Preston accounts the journey of the hemorrhagic fevers from their first modern appearances in 1967 to 1993. Preston follows twelve characters along their journey working with or against Ebola. “Charles Monet” was a Frenchman who explored Kitum Cave on New Years eve 1980 and violently dies of Marburg 2 days later. He is the first case since the original outbreak in Germany in 1967, which was believed to be caused by the shipment of monkeys from West Africa. LTC Nancy Jaax was an Army veterinary pathologist who begins working with the Ebola virus in 1983, and then becomes chief of Pathology at USAMRIID in 1989, as such she is heavily involved in the Reston monkey house disaster. COL Jerry Jaax, husband to Nancy was chief of the veterinary division as USAMRIID. He also lead the SWAT team that took over the Reston monkey house. “Peter Cardinal” was a Danish boy who died of Marburg in 1987 after visiting Kitum Cave. Eugene Johnson was a civilian virus hunter, specializing in Ebola. In 1988 he lead an Army expedition to Kitum Cave following the death of “Peter Cardinal”. Dan Dalgard was lead veterinarian at the

Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer is an interesting and impressive book. The expedition that Christopher McCandless took seems, at times, unrealistic for a young man to tale . Yet his story remains relatable, even the anti-adrenaline junkie. This is all due to Krakauer's use of literary devices and his own personal connection to McCandless. Anyone can write words on a page and have a someone read them.

In 2014 the United States was hit with a force far more deadly and dangerous than many threats received. The ebola virus took the world by storm after it was carried to the United States and spread by people who had visited West Africa. This virus was all the more deadly as it often took hours for any symptoms to occur. In this time the Center for Disease Control spent much time and many resources looking for answers to the many questions they had. Under the time constraint and scrutinizing public, they had to determine what ebola was, what it did and its effects on the general public.

The book “A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson was a great read and very much exhibited the division between Americans and the natural world people tend to forget. It takes true dedication to walk through the Appalachian Trail. With sweat, time, and dedication it will pay

Jon Krakauer’s odyssey Into the Wild follows Christopher McCandless through his last year of his life traversing the North American frontier. As a biography based on McCandless’ journals and interviews, much of the details of Chris’ journeys are speculated. Yet, Krakauer succeeds in developing the enigma of Christopher McCandless, or as he would be immortalized in the bus on the Stampede Trail, Alexander Supertramp, in a way that tugs at the buried wanderer inside of everyone.

It is vital to understand deadly viruses and their history in order to prevent future outbreaks. Ebola leaves very few clues after annihilating its victims, so it is incredibly important to analyze those clues. Ebola’s close relationship to monkeys contains key knowledge that could hold the secret to its success. Paying close attention to how Ebola is spreading and mutating could lead researchers to the answer for preventing the contraction of it. Discovering where and how the virus first emerged could lead to Ebola’s end.

In the medical thriller, The Hot Zone, Preston states that flawed decisions in outbreak situations are a threat to human survival. Ebola is known by many to be lethal and in recent years, has caused an interest within the public. Many in the United States have shown fear towards the threat of Ebola in the country, which has caused many to also research the effects of Ebola on the human body. Moreover, Ebola poses a threat to the safety of medical professionals; doctors must be able to safely help patients without high risk of exposure to the hot virus. Of equal importance, medical professionals involved with the treatment of hot viruses must be trained properly in order to effectively make decisions and protect all patients and

The Hot Zone describes the true events in the 1980s surrounding an outburst of the Ebola virus at a monkey facility in Reston, Virginia. The author also gives a background of many other biological outbreaks, mainly in Africa in the 1970s to the 1980s. The book starts off in Kenya with a French colonist name Charles Monet planning to go on a trip up Mt Elgon. Monet starts up the mountain and finds a cave called Kitum Cave. He enters the cave and explores and later the reader figures out that the bats in the cave have been exposed to this unknown virus. Monet is taken to a hospital there called Nairobi Hospital were a doctor named Dr. Musoke operates on him and becomes infected from Monet’s blood. Next, Preston tells about the outbreak of the

Boone and Walker both found great pleasure in their explorations of new lands; however, Walkers descriptions are direct and plainly recorded. Boones portrayal tends to read more poetic and detailed, with an excitement to his tone. Walker writes his journeys, as if they are merely a diary of his daily events and void of any details. He names locations and rivers from their appearance, but never describes their beauty nor add any of his feelings into the descriptions. Both discuss encounters with Indians that were inhabiting the lands prior to their discovery. Walker writes about his conquering of the animals, while Boone will tell of their beauty. Boone will allow the reader to understand his gratitude for his new land and experiences, while

In The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Preston writes about his research as he finds the origin of the Ebola Virus while also finding facts surrounding other viral outbreaks. In the beginning of the book, Preston writes about Charles Monet who died because he was exposed to the Marburg Virus. The Marburg virus and the death of Charles Monet was described in such a specific, gruesome way, which shows us how terrifying this virus actually was and what kind of damage it can do to our bodies. The first few chapters of the book mainly describes several different outbreaks that have happened four years before Charles Monet’s death. The first virus was the Ebola Virus is Sudan, which infected a local shopkeeper who unfortunately spread

Through literary and rhetorical devices, every piece of writing has the ability to portray a message, with Wendell Berry’s essay An Entrance to the Woods and Barry Bryson’s novel A Walk in the Woods being no different. Both of these stories recall an experience in nature, though the presentation of each differs quite a bit. Through the use of literary and rhetorical devices, Berry and Bryson differ in their use of creating an image and setting up a mood; however, the theme of each story imitate each other, as ways to escape society exist, but no matter how far someone walks into the woods, civilization resides in their mind.

As a nature enthusiast myself I wholeheartedly agree with everything Bryson presents in this book. I love the thought of being able to trek across the wilderness surrounded by nothing but people who share the same joy as i do, and the beautiful scenery unique to the wilderness. Bryson states that there is a certain kind of pride you gain from doing such a feat, “We had hiked 500 miles, a million and a quarter steps, since setting off from Amicalola. We had grounds to be proud. We were real hikers now. We had shit in the woods and slept with bears. We had become, we would forever be, mountain men.” (Bryson 203) which is something I can appreciate. I have loved nature since being a child, always wishing to explore and see great things, Bryson

Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” is a book that epitomizes the struggles that one needs to go through in order to better themselves. This is evident with the main characters. They are two middle aged men named Bryson, a man who resideds in New Hampshire and Katz, Bryson’s overweight alcoholic college friend from Iowa. When he thought of someone to accompany him, a grumpy college friend named Katz came to mind. As they started off, Bryson started off with the goal that the trail was only being hiked as a way to see the grand nation of America, but it lead to so much more as it uncovered many important topics. This is true because the trail was filled with adventure in discovering America’s heartland and realizing their own personal