Hot Zone questions

1. I thought the book was excellent. It was really interesting, and I couldn't put it down. What I like best is that while reading it, I was learning things I would've never known about ebola and marburg, and the other diseases involved with monkeys. I think we read it before AP biology to get an understanding of how biology works. It helped me understand how diseases work inside the body, and what they can do to you.

2. a) When someone has ebola, their cells are taken over by the disease forming crystalloids, and eventually explode. That causes the body to "bleed out" which means all of their organs bleed and don't stop until there is no blood left.

b) Ebola is a deadly disease, which can be transmitted through contact with infected blood. Once you are infected, there is no cure.

c) Biosafety level 4 procedure includes stages before you can actually enter the hot zone. Sharp objects are not normally used inside a hot zone becuase they can cause rips or tears in one's suit, which could cause that person to be infected. Someone in a level 4 hot zone must wear a biocontainment suit. The room is filled with negative air pressure so the disease cannot escape.

3. The article on malaria is relevant to the situation in the hot zone, because the disease originates in animals and can be passed on to humans. The animals starting with the disease are chimps, and in the hot zone monkeys are being tested for ebola. Both diseases have been around for many years. The diseases can last for a very long time, which is why they must take precautions so the disease doesn't inhabit humans. There are two different parasites, as there are different types of ebola. Also no one knows where malaria exactly came from, like ebola.