The Hot Zone by Richard Preston - 5 stars (Listopia)

[Ellen]

A shipment of monkeys to a suburban Washington DC scientific research center carried a deep, dark secret. The animals were infected with Ebola and soon after arrival in the US the animals began to die. Originally from Africa, the monkeys were shipped to Manila and then on to the US. Once the animals became sick it was discovered that they were suffering from Ebola which would kill 90% of them. The Army, the CDC and the research center worked together to contain the virus before it could spread to the human population. Not knowing if contact with the virus would infect people, extreme high-level bio-containment measures were followed including the wearing of space suits, decontamination showers and air locks within the building.

This is quite a horror story and is frighteningly true. What Ebola does to a body, animal or human, is beyond imagining. I had no idea and now I will never forget it. The author does an outstanding job of tracing the spread of AIDS and Ebola, which are similar in some ways. Probably the scariest message from the book is that no one knows what the original carrier of Ebola might be. It could be anything and it is still out there.

[Anita]

Ellen wrote: "A shipment of monkeys to a suburban Washington DC scientific research center carried a deep, dark secret. The animals were infected with Ebola and soon after arrival in the US the animals began to ..."

Glad to see you thought it was as good as I did! Agree with your comment about how Ebola itself is beyond the imagination. I seriously hope something like this never becomes readily spread like the flu. Or worse, weaponized. Just thinking about it gives me the chills.