Blog #2

People handle serious illnesses differently. However, if it is an epidemic like Ebola, it is usually handled with panic and fear by humans who haven’t contracted it. America had that huge Ebola scare a few years ago that caused mass panic within the public. Everyone feared being ill, was afraid that something harmless could cause them to contract the virus, and hospitals were generally crowded with worried people. Those who do contract a serious illness, usually counteract it with denial that they are actually sick and attempt to continue on with their normal lifestyle. Examples of this would be the individuals who had contracted the virus in The Hot Zone. Dr. Musoke who had contracted the virus from Charles Monet denied his sickness and continued on with his work as evident on page 23. “He gave himself a course of antibiotic pills, but that had no effect on his illness. Meanwhile his patients needed him, and continued to work at the hospital.” Another example would be Nurse Mayinga, who refused to seek treatment from her own hospital and wandered around to different hospitals instead. Her denial can be seen on page 83, “she knew she was becoming sick, but she did not want to admit to herself what it was.” A personal experience of mine would be what my brother had done several years ago. He was not feeling well, but still remained adamant about going to Disneyworld with us. In the end, he had thrown up on the slowest ride out of the whole entire amusement park. 

Blog #1

One ethical dilemma faced in the novel The Hot Zone, is the treatment towards the monkeys who were injected with the Ebola virus. The positive side of this dilemma is that if the monkeys successfully resist the virus and live, it would result in the possibility of discovering a cure to the Ebola virus. However, the unethical dilemma of inserting the Ebola virus into the monkeys are the death rates and cruelty. Nancy and Thompson maintained the monkeys in tightly locked up cages inside of the laboratory, as to not allow them to interact with the uninfected or infected monkeys. Next on page 60, “Nancy Jaax and Tony Johnson inspected the monkeys, moving from cage to cage, until they found the two monkeys that had crashed and bled out.”  Later on in the same chapter, Jaax and Thompson proceed to dissect the deceased monkeys to inspect how the Ebola virus impacted their bodies inwardly. Nancy Jaax and Tony Johnson were the characters that were involved in the situation. Nancy was affected by this ethical dilemma by almost coming into contact with the Ebola virus due to the monkey dissections and a tear within her latex gloves. Johnson however, was not affected by the deaths of the monkeys like Nancy.