Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History and of the Viruses to Come by Richard Preston
Takes an in-depth look at the 2013-2014 Ebola epidemic that infected 30,000 people and killed victims in eight countries on three continents. Identifies the people involved in the crisis, and explores the ethical dilemma regarding who received doses of an experimental treatment during the outbreak. Also describes the doctors and scientists currently working to prevent another outbreak, and discusses what the future holds for emerging viruses.
Review from Publishers Weekly Starred:
Preston follows up his 1994 book The Hot Zone with another terrifying real-life thriller about the threat of viruses—in this case, Ebola. He leavens the subject’s essential grimness with inspiring portrayals of men and women who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives battling the virus’s resurgence in West Africa in 2013 and 2014. They include Lisa Hensley, an American researcher and single mother who chooses to travel to Africa to offer what help she can, and Humarr Khan, a physician who, even before the Ebola outbreak, had already decided to stay in his native Sierra Leone and fight Lassa, another virus endemic in West Africa, rather than pursue a lucrative American career. Along with character sketches, Preston delves into the moral complexities that can arise in disease research, in this case when an apparent miracle cure—dubbed wow “because everybody was typing Wow in their emails”—yields amazing results in monkeys and the researchers must decide whether to experiment with its efficacy for humans. His concluding sections establish why this story remains relevant, as the Ebola outbreak is a cautionary tale of what could happen if a similar mutated supervirus reached cities. This nonfiction page-turner will both educate and scare readers.