Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come

by Richard Preston

Viruses are the undead of the living world, the zombies of deep time.

Around ten million virus particles land on every square meter of the earth each day, drifting down from the air.

A liter of seawater contains more virus particles than any other form of life.

It seems virtually certain that another Level 4 emerging virus, one that is perhaps far more contagious than Ebola, will cross from the virosphere into a person somewhere on earth.

The worldwide eradication of smallpox, led by a small team of doctors at the World Health Organization, and accomplished by tens of thousands of vaccinators, is the greatest achievement in the history of medicine.

“I always think that the absence of bad luck is the most important thing in life,”

Human beings had to become like monsters in order to save their human selves.

omg that’s like by my house

We are one species, all connected, but we are just one thing to a virus: a host.

If there is a vaccine or drug that can help, there will be corruption. Companies and individuals hoarding vaccine, selling it at sky-high prices.

we can change our fate if we can see it coming, and that human actions can sometimes, not always, change a pattern of events as they jiggle and bump their way into the future.