The impact of the Ebola virus
This is a non-fiction book about the Ebola virus, and the devastating impact it had on many people's lives. For example, Preston tells the story of the first person to contract the virus (a young child called Emile Ouamouno) which subsequently led to the death of his entire family. Eventually, this led to over 11,000 deaths in total.
Contagious diseases
This is ultimately a book about infectious diseases, how quickly they can spread and how they can disrupt the running of society. Focusing on the Ebola virus, Preston discusses its history, symptoms, and death rate. At the end of the text, he questions whether another epidemic outbreak is on the cards.
Finding a treatment
Preston also details the attempts to find a treatment for the Ebola virus, and the difficulties researchers faced. For example, there was the issue of trying drugs that had not yet been tested on humans. In addition to this, local people had also become suspicious of medicine from other countries, meaning there was also an obstacle in getting people treated. Overall, this shows the difficulty in trying to quickly create a vaccine or treatment for an epidemic.
