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In reply to the discussion: I was wrong - [View all]

deurbano

(2,891 posts)
9. Just keep in mind what Richard Preston, himself, believes:
Mon Oct 20, 2014, 04:52 PM
Oct 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/20/books/the-hot-zone-author-tracks-ebolas-evolution.html?_r=0

A WORD WITH: RICHARD PRESTON
Updating a Chronicle of Suffering: Author of ‘The Hot Zone’ Tracks Ebola’s Evolution

By ALEXANDRA ALTEROCT. 19, 2014


…<<Q. It has been more than two decades since you started writing about Ebola. How has your understanding of the virus evolved?

A. It’s changed a great deal. We know a lot more about Ebola in the intervening 20 years. Initially, there were a lot of fears that Ebola could mutate to become the airborne Andromeda strain that would wipe us all out. With what we know now about the genetic code of the virus, Ebola does not travel through the air in airborne form and is very unlikely to mutate that way. Another thing that’s been learned about Ebola is the mutation rate. The virus is continually mutating as it’s moving through the human population. It’s testing out its new environment. One of the biggest concerns is that all of our drugs and tests and vaccines for Ebola need to be adjusted. We can adjust the tests, but we need to watch how the virus is doing. We have a whole bunch of new tools that we never had in the 1990s. We now have the ability to use genetic sequencing machines to read the code of the virus again and again. This is like making a video of the virus moving in real time. We now have our eyes on the enemy.

Q. Some of your descriptions of the virus and its symptoms in “The Hot Zone” have been called inaccurate and hyperbolic. Are you planning to release an updated version of “The Hot Zone” with information related to the current crisis?

A. Yes, I am dying to update the book. I want to make the clinical picture of the virus more clear and accurate. In the original “Hot Zone,” I have a description of a nurse weeping tears of blood. That almost certainly didn’t happen. When a person has Ebola, the eyes can turn brilliant red from blood vessels leaking and blood oozing out of the eyelid. That’s horrifying, but it’s not someone with tears of blood running down their face. I want to fix that….>>
I was wrong - [View all] hedgehog Oct 2014 OP
Thanks for posting that link. SheilaT Oct 2014 #1
That post definitely proves you aren't Republican. raccoon Oct 2014 #2
A puppy with wings? liberal N proud Oct 2014 #3
Adorable. I'll take 2. JaneyVee Oct 2014 #4
Is that a bird dog? n/t jtuck004 Oct 2014 #8
I think it's a Wren Tin Tin! csziggy Oct 2014 #13
+100 <G> n/t jtuck004 Oct 2014 #14
Well done!!! n/t Mugu Oct 2014 #16
Well, no one can accuse you of being a Republican Curmudgeoness Oct 2014 #5
Thank you for the link. It is good to learn about things. uppityperson Oct 2014 #6
I am reading The Hot Zone by Richard Preston mnhtnbb Oct 2014 #7
Just keep in mind what Richard Preston, himself, believes: deurbano Oct 2014 #9
Very cool. FLPanhandle Oct 2014 #10
A virus "mutating" to "go airborne" is largely a fantasy alcibiades_mystery Oct 2014 #11
The Great Monster Out There = And Under The Bed! freshwest Oct 2014 #12
Very few posters would do this. Congrats for doing it. Nt Logical Oct 2014 #15
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