Hot zone (environment)

Hot zone, also written as hot-zone or hotzone, refers to an area that is considered to be dangerous. It generally entails special equipment to protect occupants, because there is a high risk of infection.

The term hot zone was likely coined during the Cold war where it described locations rendered hazardous due to nuclear contamination. The term was later extended to areas or locations considered to be hazardous such as Level-4 Biosafety labs, places in which there is active conflict, and so forth.

The term Hot Zone was popularized by the book The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, and the film Outbreak.

Hazardous biological agents can induce a hot zone, as occupants are in danger of becoming infected. These biological contaminants can include many things. Some common examples would be bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Many times these are used as biological warfare, or biowarfare, agents with the intent to harm.

Precautions are taken in a gradient level of protection.

In 2009, the outbreak of swine influenza happened in most places of the whole world. The swine influenza originated from a Mexican woman, and it was transmitted from person to person by air with a rapid speed. North America and Mexico were the first places to be affected by the virus. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were 14,142 deaths of swine influenza, and 1,311,522 people had this virus in their bodies in 2009. Spain, China, the United States, and South Korea are considered to be hot zones of swine influenza. There were 155,051 people who had this virus in Spain, 120,498 in China, 107,939 in United State and 101,182 in South Korea. The people in those areas can very easily get this virus. The virus is transmittable through the air, such as through coughing, sneezing or touching something containing the virus. Epidemics of acute respiratory disease of pigs are caused by the virus disease, swine influenza. Swine influenza belongs to the type A of the Orthomyxoviridae family. The patients with swine influenza virus have symptoms consisting of headaches, chills, fatigue, fever, cough and sore throat.

Malaria In Peru deforestation is leading to the distribution of Malaria. With the forests being destroyed the wildlife is as well, leaving malaria looking for a new host. Malaria is a very dangerous disease, so much so that vaccinations are required for traveling into places suspected of housing the disease. Malaria is a disease that is found predominantly in third world, low-income countries. Malaria along with other insect diseases are learning to adapt to life in the city. In Peru a port city called Iquitos the population has been growing in the past 10 years making it prime for mosquitoes to flourish. These mosquitoes also bring in Dengue Fever, in which 5 percent of its victims will die.

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