---
title: "The Hot Zone"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hot_Zone"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:32:31.616366+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The discovery of the Reston virus was made in November 1989 by Thomas W. Geisbert, an intern at United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Peter B. Jahrling isolated the filovirus further. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted blood tests of the 178 animal handlers. While six tested positive, they did not exhibit any symptoms. The Reston virus was found to have low pathogenicity in humans. This was further supported later when a handler infected himself during a necropsy of an infected monkey, as the handler did not show symptoms of the virus after the incubation period.

== Reception ==
The Hot Zone was listed as one of around 100 books that shaped a century of science by American Scientist. Many reviews of The Hot Zone exemplify the impact the book had on the public's view of emerging viruses. A review in the British Medical Journal captures the paranoia and public panic described in this book. The reviewer was left "wondering when and where this enigmatic agent will appear next and what other disasters may await human primates". This can also be seen in a review in the Public Health Reports which highlights the "seriousness of our current situation" and "our ability to respond to a major health threat".
The Hot Zone was described in an academic journal covering research in the history of science as a "romantic account of environmental transgression". Reactions to this book could be seen not only in the public's view of emerging viruses, but in the changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition to the funding of public health infrastructure during the early 1970s, there were many public discussions of biodefense. This book continued to fuel the emerging diseases campaign. By connecting international health to national security, this campaign used The Hot Zone to justify increased intervention in the global phenomena of disease.
The Hot Zone elicited a major response by the World Health Organization (WHO) by shedding light on the Zaire ebolavirus. Teams of experts were immediately released. Many countries tightened their borders, issued warnings to customs officials, quarantined travellers, and issued travel advisories.
In his blurb, horror writer Stephen King called the first chapter "one of the most horrifying things I've read in my whole life". When asked whether any book "scared the pants off you" writer Suzanne Collins answered "The Hot Zone, by Richard Preston. I just read it a few weeks ago. Still recovering."
The Hot Zone has received criticism for sensationalizing the effects of Ebola virus. In their memoir Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC (1996), former CDC scientists Joseph B. McCormick and Susan Fisher-Hoch lambasted Preston for claiming that Ebola dissolves organs, stating that although it causes great blood loss in tissues the organs remain structurally intact. McCormick and Fisher-Hoch also dispute Preston's version of the CDC's actions in the Reston virus incident. In an interview about his book Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus (2014), David Quammen claimed that The Hot Zone had "vivid, gruesome details" that gave an "exaggerated idea of Ebola over the years" causing "people to view this disease as though it was some sort of preternatural phenomenon".

== Dramatizations ==

=== Failed film adaptation ===
In January 1993, 20th Century Fox producer Lynda Obst won a bidding war for the film rights to Preston's 1992 New Yorker article, which was still being transitioned into book form. In response to being outbid, Warner Bros. producer Arnold Kopelson immediately began working on a similarly themed production. This competing film, Outbreak, would ultimately be a factor in the collapse of Fox's planned production, Crisis in The Hot Zone.
Directors considered for Crisis in The Hot Zone included Wolfgang Petersen (who would later direct Outbreak), Michael Mann, and Ridley Scott. Scott eventually signed on to direct the film in February 1994. Screenwriter James V. Hart was also signed to adapt the book. In late April 1994, Fox announced they had signed Robert Redford and Jodie Foster to star in the film.
Crisis in The Hot Zone, however, was never made. Foster dropped out of the film two weeks before filming was to begin having not been satisfied by her character as written in the script. Production was delayed, with Meryl Streep, Sharon Stone, and Robin Wright touted as possible replacements. In August 1994, Redford also dropped out of the film; a few days after Redford left it was announced that pre-production had been shut down.

=== Television series ===

On October 16, 2014, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Ridley Scott again planned to adapt the book, this time as a television miniseries for NatGeo. Kelly Souders, Brian Peterson, and Jeff Vintar wrote the pilot. Julianna Margulies starred as Nancy Jaax. Filming began in September 2018. Lynda Obst again produced the series. The series first aired from May 27 to May 29, 2019, and was later renewed for a second season.

== See also ==
C.J. Peters
Hot zone (environment)
The Demon in the Freezer
United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

== References ==

=== Cited sources ===

== Further reading ==
Preston, Richard (July 20, 1995) [1994]. The Hot Zone, A Terrifying True Story. Anchor Books (Random House), Sagebrush Education Resources, Tandem Library Books. ISBN 0-385-47956-5.

== External links ==
CNN Article on Ebola
Joseph B. McCormick, MD Archived July 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine at New York Academy of Sciences