Motaba: Unraveling the Mystery of an Enigmatic Name

In 1967: Motaba Virus Discovery

In 1967, a virus by the name Motaba that leads to a deadly fever and is similar to Ebola was noticed in an African jungle (Li, 2014).

William Ford and Donald McClintock

William Ford and Donald McClintock were two US army officers who destroy the camp where Motaba was discovered and takes samples of blood from the dying patients. Their intention is to keep the deadly virus as a possible biological weapon.

Reappearance of the Virus

Later on, in 1995, the virus reappears in Zaire then a USAMRIID virologist named Lieutenant Colonel Sam Daniels is sent to find out more about the virus (Dworet, 2012). Together with his team gain certain details about the virus and jets back to the US and put out an alert.

Roberta Keough's Concern

William Ford, a superior officer in the research process understands the virus is not a new case but advice Daniels that the virus is not likely to resurface. However, Roberta Keough, Daniels’ ex-wife and part of the team after leaving the research center goes to Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta and gets convinced that an alert should be recommended on the virus, but her seniors hesitate too.

Spread of the Virus

In the meantime, the virus arrived through a monkey that some was smuggled into the country. One of the officers at Bio-Tech animal holding facility named James Scott bribed the security officer and takes the monkey to California to sell. While taking the monkey, he gets infected through saliva contact. He later fails to sell the monkey but the contact between the monkey and the buyer, Rudy Alvarez, gets him infected. Alvarez, the store owner, shares a banana with other monkeys in the store and gets them infected too. Scott releases the monkey into the forest after finding it difficult to maintain it.

Infection in California

On his way to Boston, Scott shows the signs of the infection where he also kissed her girlfriend, Alice this infecting her. Alice collapses and the two get hospitalized. Keough continues to investigate the virus but concludes that only Scott, Alvarez and Alice, who all die, were infected. Consequently, health technicians back in California’s Cedar Creek Hospital tests Alvarez’s blood samples. Unfortunately, one of the technicians named Henry breaks a vial thus splashes the contents. He gets infected and dies. Before he died, Henry had visited a movie theatre. Thereafter, the virus mutates into strong strain and is able to spread faster. Many people in Cedar Creek get exposed in the theatre. Despite being ordered by Ford not to go, Colonel Daniels learns about the situation in Cedar Creek and flies there to join Keough.

The Search for the Host Animal

Daniels, Keough, and team seeks to find the host animal. At the same time, the government evokes a state of martial regulation and the whole Cedar Cree is quarantined by the US army to contain the virus’ spread. While carrying out the research, one of the team members named Schuler gets infected after his suit tears a bit. While collecting samples, Keough accidentally pierces herself with a contaminated needle due to of Schuler’s shaking. A mystery serum is brought to the victims of the virus. Daniel notices that the serum was meant to cure the virus and not just experimental. He also realized that Ford has been knowing the existence of the virus. Despite all the efforts, the serum fails to rescue the people of Cedar Creek. Daniel asks Ford who later agrees that he had withheld the details about Motaba. Ford cites that the virus was a threat to national security due to its potential to be used as a biological weapon.

The Plan to Destroy Cedar Creek

The government plans to destroy Cedar Creek through a military bombing to eliminate further spreads, an operation that Daniels gets to know. Donald McClintock, one of the generals who carried the virus from African jungles to store as a biological weapon wants to use bombing as a cover-up to protect his hidden agenda. He gets Daniels arrested claiming he is a viral carrier. His intentions are to prevent him from finding the cure. Daniels escapes custody and together with his team are in search of the host animal.

Mrs. Jeffries' Call

The animal facility learns about the journey of the host animal from the security guard who was bribed by Scott. The news is broadcasted and Mrs. Jeffries understands that her daughter is playing with the animal under search. She calls the broadcaster and leads Daniels and team to her home. At the same time, McClintock learns about Daniels location. After the host animal is captured, Ford hesitates to bomb.

Rescuing Cedar Creek

Despite McClintock’s attempts to re-arrest Daniels while flying back before he gets the cure, Daniels and team, including Salt lands and mixes the animal’s antibodies with the serum and generates an anti-serum. The cure saves Keough in time but Schuler succumbs. McClintock is determined to resume the bombing. However, Daniels and team convince the pilots charged with the duty to bomb otherwise. He informs them that the details were withheld from them intentionally that the virus was incurable. Before McClintock embarks on a second attempt, he is relieved of his post and gets arrested for withholding information about the virus form people including the President.

References

Dworet, L. (2012). Outbreak (film). The Dustin Hoffman Handbook-Everything you need to            know about Dustin Hoffman, 109.

Li, V. (2014). Ebola, emerging: the limitations of culturalist discourses in epidemiology. The      Journal of Global Health.