In 'Fevers, Feuds And Diamonds,' Paul Farmer Breaks Down Assumptions About Ebola

Suppose you're participating in one of those word-association tests, where someone gives you a word and you're to respond with the first things that enter your mind. Your word is "Ebola."

Unless you're an infectious-disease expert, what might pop into your mind are phrases like "bleeding from the eyes and mouth," and "90% death rate," coupled with images of horrific contagion set in remote African villages. That's an almost inevitable takeaway from reading Richard Preston's best-selling The Hot Zone ("you are almost certainly doomed" if you catch Ebola, Preston claimed) or watching movies based in viral sensationalism.