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

by Richard Preston

Sixty seconds after the Ebola particle has landed on the person’s eyelid it can be anywhere in the person’s body.

If we are going to stop the next virus, it pays to study history. There is much to be learned by looking at the people who engaged with Ebola during its first known encounter with the human species.

The only certain thing about emerging viruses is that they are deeply unpredictable.

Viruses more powerful and dangerous than Ebola were going to emerge in the future, and medical people were going to have to deal with them. “If we don’t help, what message are we sending our children?” Hensley would later say. “Our children are going to inherit these problems, and people are dying. Part of the responsibility of a parent is to teach our children how to be responsible. We have to set the example for our staff, our families, and the patients in Africa.”

The Ebola epidemic seems to be part of a pattern rather than something unusual or extreme. When looked at closely, it was really just a series of small accidents and unnoticed events, which, moment by moment, grew into a crescendo of horror.