The Hot Zone is a best-selling 1994 non-fiction

Non-fiction

Non-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...

 bio-thriller by Richard Preston

Richard Preston

Richard Preston, born August 5, 1954 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., is a New Yorker writer and bestselling author perhaps best-known for his books about infectious disease epidemics and bioterrorism, although he has written other non-fiction works...

 about the origins and incidents involving viral hemorrhagic fever

Viral hemorrhagic fever

The viral hemorrhagic fevers are a diverse group of animal and human illnesses that are caused by four distinct families of RNA viruses: the families Arenaviridae, Filoviridae, Bunyaviridae, and Flaviviridae. All types of VHF are characterized by fever and bleeding disorders and all can progress...

s, particularly ebolaviruses

Ebolavirus

The genus Ebolavirus is a virological taxon included in the family Filoviridae, order Mononegavirales.This genus was introduced in 1998 as the "Ebola-like viruses". In 2002 the name was changed to Ebolavirus and in 2010 the genus was emended....

 and marburgviruses

Marburgvirus

The genus Marburgvirus is the taxonomic home of one species whose members are two related viruses that form filamentous virions, Marburg virus and Ravn virus...

. The basis of the book was Preston's 1992 New Yorker

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

article "Crisis in the Hot Zone

Crisis in the Hot Zone

Crisis in the Hot Zone was the title of a 1992 non-fiction article by Richard Preston in The New Yorker. It chronicles the story of how the U.S...

".

The filoviruses

Filoviridae

The family Filoviridae is the taxonomic home of several related viruses that form filamentous virions. Two members of the family that are commonly known are Ebola virus and Marburg virus. Both viruses, and some of their lesser known relatives, cause severe disease in humans and nonhuman primates in...

 Ebola virus

Ebola virus

Ebola virus causes severe disease in humans and in nonhuman primates in the form of viral hemorrhagic fever. EBOV is a Select Agent, World Health Organization Risk Group 4 Pathogen , National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Category A Priority Pathogen,...

 (EBOV), Sudan virus

Sudan virus

Sudan virus is a close relative of the much more commonly known Ebola virus . SUDV causes severe disease in humans and in nonhuman primates in the form of viral hemorrhagic fevers...

 (SUDV), Marburg virus

Marburg virus

Marburg virus disease is the name for the human disease caused by any of the two marburgviruses Marburg virus and Ravn virus...

 (MARV), and Ravn virus

Ravn virus

Ravn virus is a close relative of the much more commonly known Marburg virus . RAVV causes severe disease in humans and in nonhuman primates in the form of viral hemorrhagic fever...

 (RAVV) are Biosafety Level 4 agents. Biosafety Level 4 agents are extremely dangerous to humans because they are very infectious, have a high case-fatality rate, and there are no known prophylactics, treatments, or cures.