On the Trail of a Killer Virus

In spring of 1993, a deadly virus appeared in the Southwest region of the United States. This virulent new disease baffled doctors and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC did finally identify the virus as a strain of the Hantavirus, a virus carried by rodents. The detective work of the CDC led to a course of action, treatment and prevention, thwarting a nationwide epidemic. On the Trail of a Killer Virus follows doctors, health workers and the CDC as they hunt down the mysterious virus and work to find a cure.

On the Trail of a Killer Virus would be useful for classes on Science, Medicine and Public Policy. It is appropriate for middle school and high school.

• DNA
• contagious
• diagnosis
• disciplines
• earmark
• epidemic
• epidemiologists
• eradication
• hemorrhage
• immunization
• inflammatory
• intrusive
• lethal
• pathogens
• perpetuate
• sanitarium

1. What is a medical investigator? What service does he or she perform?

2. What is an autopsy? How does the body reveal answers to medical questions? How does it reveal the answers to criminal questions?

3. What is “clinical presentation? What was the clinical presentation of the Hantavirus that broke out in the southwest United States in 1993?

4. The mortality rate of the Hantavirus strain in 1993 was nearly 70%. What is a mortality rate? Why do some people survive while others quickly die?

5. Compare the Hantavirus with another deadly disease of recent years, AIDS.

6. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA. is one of the most advanced medical agencies in the world. How does the CDC deal with the dangerous viruses it needs to study and find cures for?

7. Viruses like the Hantavirus are killers and could infect the scientists working to find a cure for them. Why do some scientists choose to work with these viruses despite the danger and enormous risk?

8. The Hantavirus strain was first referred to as the “Navajo disease.” What was the role of racism in the naming of this disease and peoples’ reaction to the Navajo people?

9. How does modern transportation contribute to the spread of disease?

1. Watch the movie And the Band Played On. Compare the course of events of the AIDS virus with that of the Hantavirus.

2. Create a chart or poster of some of the viruses and diseases of the twentieth century.

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Air Dates

• April 27, 2004