血疫 (1995)

《血疫：埃博拉的故事》（英语：The Hot Zone）是由理查德·普雷斯顿撰写的1994年非虚构书籍，内容是关于病毒性出血热的缘起和相关事件，并以埃博拉病毒与马尔堡病毒的案例为主。在本书出版之前，普雷斯顿在1992年10月26日于《纽约客》杂志上发表文章《热区危机》（Crisis in the Hot Zone），与本书部分内容有重叠。

影视改编

电影

普雷斯顿在《纽约客》发表的文章《热区危机》引起好莱坞关注，许多片商希望将之改编成电影。1993年1月，二十世纪福克斯制片人琳达·奥布斯特成功买下该文章的电影改编权，合约金额是40万美元（电影开拍之前仅预付10万美元）。竞标失败的其他制片人之一阿诺德·科派尔森（与华纳兄弟合作）则另行筹备同题材的电影，也就是1995年上映的《恐怖地带》。

导演迈克尔·曼与雷德利·斯科特有意执导改编电影。1994年2月，斯科特确定担任《热区危机》的导演，该片与《恐怖地带》形成两家片商之间的竞争。1994年5月，报导称罗伯特·雷德福与朱迪·福斯特将担任主演。詹姆斯·V·哈特负责执笔剧本。该片的预算为4000万美元，并已订好开拍的时间。

1994年8月，《热区危机》宣告取消。根据《纽约时报》报导，斯科特、瑞福与福斯特三位主要成员存在剧本方面的意见分歧，福斯特在1994年7月退出，而在失去女主角的同时，竞争对手《恐怖地带》已经开拍。女主角的替补人选包含罗宾·怀特、霍利·亨特、莎朗·斯通、玛丽莎·托梅、杰米·李·柯蒂斯与苏珊·莎兰登，8月12日时一度决定是梅丽尔·斯特里普，但史翠普选择接演《廊桥遗梦》而导致计划失败。瑞福在几天后退出，斯科特的制片公司于1994年8月18日声明该片已取消，已挹注的850万美元付诸流水。一些相关人员将这起失败归咎于人事问题，以及《热区危机》与《恐怖地带》双方为了竞争而操之过急。

The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story is a best-selling 1994 nonfiction thriller by Richard Preston about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fevers, particularly ebolaviruses and marburgviruses. The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker article "Crisis in the Hot Zone".

The filoviruses—including Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Marburg virus, and Ravn virus—are Biosafety Level 4 agents, extremely dangerous to humans because they are very infectious, have a high fatality rate, and most have no known measures, treatments, or cures. Along with describing the history of the devastation caused by two of these Central African diseases, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Preston described a 1989 incident in which a relative of Ebola virus, Reston virus, was discovered at a primate quarantine facility in Reston, Virginia, less than 15 miles (24 km) away from Washington, D.C.

Synopsis

The book is in four sections:

"The Shadow of Mount Elgon" delves into the history of filoviruses, as well as speculation about the origins of AIDS. Preston recounts the story of "Charles Monet" (a pseudonym), who might have caught Marburg virus from visiting Kitum Cave on Mount Elgon in Kenya. The author describes the progression of the disease, from the initial headache and backache, to the final stage in which Monet's internal organs fail and he hemorrhages extensively in a waiting room in a Nairobi hospital. This part also introduces a promising young physician who became infected with Marburg virus while treating Monet. Nancy Jaax's story is told. Viruses, biosafety levels and procedures are described. The Ebola virus disease outbreaks caused by Ebola virus and its cousin, Sudan virus, are mentioned. Preston talks to the man who named the Ebola virus.

"The Monkey House" chronicles the discovery of Reston virus among imported monkeys in Reston, Virginia, and the following actions taken by the U.S. Army and Centers for Disease Control. It starts with the monkey house receiving a shipment of 100 wild monkeys. After four weeks, 29 of these monkeys have died. This is followed by the veterinarian for the facility, Dan Dalgard, examining the dead monkeys and sending the samples to Peter Jahrling, a virologist at United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. After seeing a rope-like virus under the microscope, it is suspected that the monkeys were infected with a hot agent similar to the Marburg virus. Jahrling then conducts a blood test to find out that the hot agent is the Ebola Zaire virus. This conclusion leads to the Army Medical Research Institute deciding to euthanize all the monkeys in the same room as the infected monkeys.

"Smashdown" is more on the Reston epizootic, which involved a strain of the virus that does not affect humans but which easily spreads by air, and is very similar to its cousin the Ebola virus.

"Kitum Cave" tells of the author's visit to the cave that is the suspected home of the natural host animal in which the Marburg virus lives.

The book starts with "Charles Monet" visiting Kitum Cave during a camping trip to Mount Elgon in Central Africa. Not long after, he begins to suffer from a number of symptoms, including vomiting, diarrhea and red eye. He is taken to Nairobi Hospital for treatment, but his condition deteriorates further, and he goes into a coma while in the waiting room. This particular filovirus is called Marburg virus.