Blog #2

People handle illness in a very odd way. When they have an illness they tend to run away like in the book or they deny even having the illness. I think people do this because illness invokes fear in them. They are afraid of the illness because they do not know what it is going to do to them so they say they do not have it and try to make themselves believe that it is no big deal. This kind of fear happens to Nurse Mayinga when she gets infected with Ebola. On page 84 and 85 she wanders around the city of Kinshasa afraid of what she has because no hospital seems to be able to help her and she does not understand what the virus is doing to her. This way we handle illness can also be applied to real life because most people act this way when they get sick. For example, I know a person with a very bad case of lime disease and although it gives him problems and makes him get sick and faint he always says he is alright and he goes straight back to work. This kind of behavior seems completely normal even though it does not seem like a rational thing to do when you are sick it seems to be some kind of human instinct to ignore our ailments. 

Ethical Dilemma

An ethical dilemma in The Hot Zone is the treatment of the monkeys in Level 4. Nancy Jaax is affected by them because she feels that it is her responsibility as a veterinarian to treat them and keep them alive but they are actually dying. Nancy feels bad for the monkeys because she cannot save them but she knows it is for a good cause. Although the monkeys are dying, they are research for finding the cure for Ebola so they serve a purpose. This may be how Tony Johnson feels because he has worked with the monkeys longer and knows they are key when it comes to looking for a cure. He does not seem to have a problem with the monkeys dying or becoming infected with the virus. His main goal is just to find something that can lead them to the cure or put them closer to knowing more about Ebola. Some people may say it is animal cruelty because they are dying but on the other side of things the animals are being used to make an advancement in finding the cure for Ebola.