The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, By Richard Preston

Whether an individual is professional or not, mistakes are inevitable. Most of the time, these mistakes are harmless and can be resolved. For example, a person may cut his or herself on accident; he or she can sanitize the cut and put a bandage on it. However, in the medical field, these negligible errors may determine everything. This narrative non-fiction contains an abundance of medical errors which are very crucial when dealing with viruses, especially when it is a Level four Ebola virus. In The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, by Richard Preston, the author describes that the medical errors made by humans, such as unsanitary environments and equipments and the incompetent shipping and handling of infected remains, can potentially arise

Sister M.E’s blood was sent to the Centers of Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia; however, the tubes cracked during shipment and her blood immediately poured onto the box. Preston writes, “The tubes had cracked and broken during shipment, and raw, rotten blood had run around inside the box” (Preston 71). The tubes were not sealed and kept in a secure compartment, so it shattered and infected blood was exposed to the outside world. Someone may have not known that the blood was all over the interior of the box, so he or she could have unknowingly opened the box and be exposed to the virus-infested blood. Additionally, the author discusses how Monkey O53’s meat was wrapped in aluminum foil. Preston says, ”What annoyed him was the fact that the bits of meat were wrapped in aluminum foil, like pieces of leftover hot dog” (Preston 105). This monkey’s meat contains a deadly Level 4 virus, and yet it is only wrapped in aluminum foil. Someone could have thought that the meat was just hot dog meat; he or she could have unintentionally eaten it. So now the virus is inside the person, and the now infected individual is bound to come into contact with other people. Thus, many people have been exposed to the dangerous virus. The author’s emphasis on the meager shipping and handling of infected remains tells the audience that these errors can cause an