The objective of David Quammen’s book, “Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus” (published October 20, 2014) is stated clearly in the introduction section as “to place the 2014 West Africa outbreak […] within a broader context that makes sense of those mysteries and their partial solutions. My offering here is merely a partial view of the history and science of Ebola” (Quammen, p. 2). Quammen then continues to explain that he did not have a traumatizing experience of losing his loved ones as many have, but did travel through “Ebola habitat” and became very close friends with two men who experienced the horrible realities of the Ebola virus. Quammen uses anecdotes to educate his readers regarding the Ebola virus and similar viruses, such as the Marburg virus for example. In the beginning of the book, Quammen tells about the outbreak in the village of Mayibout 2 in Gabon, Africa, where 18 people mysteriously acquired an illness and quickly died. The original victim had eaten a chimpanzee that was found dead and rotting in the forest, and was then prepared traditionally to eat. Because chimps suffer from the virus and die quickly, as do humans infected with Ebola virus, neither we nor the chimps are the reservoir host. Finding the reservoir host is a great interest of many scientists and public health officials around the world.Login Or Register To Read Full Story