The Hot Zone- Why Animals Shouldn't Be Used for Testing

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"The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston is about a disease that has been spread throughout different areas and countries. The disease originated in Germany when a fleet of infected monkeys were let out into the wild. The disease spread rapidly and once people realized what was going on, they began rounding up monkeys to test them. Animals should not be used for scientific experiments because the experiments may harm the animals and spread the disease among the testers. In the Hot Zone, scientists collected monkeys and began testing them to check for any traces or signs of viruses and/ or diseases. The scientists were not sure of the virus so they were most likely unsure of what exactly they were doing. Not only could they have been harming the monkeys, they may have harmed themselves as well. An example of this would be when Nancy Jaax’s suit had ripped. Although she did not get infected, there was a very high chance that she could have been. If there were not any animals to test, then there would not have been that risk to begin with. Some say that certain animals are used for science because they are very similar to humans. The keyword here is “similar” because the word “similar” could be the cause of allowing someone to live or ending their life. Experiments may not always go right, data might have been recorded incorrectly; there are many things that could cause harm to both humans and animals. A simple difference between a monkey or guinea pig and human’s bodily functions could easily mess up an experiment and allow chaos to break loose. This puts humans at risk by infecting them with viruses and illnesses that would not have been present in the lab if there was no testing to be done. Testing animals can put humans at risk, but it most definitely puts the animals themselves at risk. Animals are part of nature and allow the circle of life to continue and

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