"Ebola may not currently be the lead story on the six o'clock news, but according to international health organizations, it is certain to make a comeback, and the harsh reality is that right now no sure preventive vaccine or cure is known. Newman traces the viral outbreak to its first appearance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in in 1976, where it was hastily (and somewhat inaccurately) named for the nearby Ebola River. With background on early misunderstandings of the disease in place, she turns to the 2014 pandemic of which most readers will be aware. It is, of course, a story not just of medical crisis but of cultural conflicts and xenophobic mistrust as well, as West Africans' traditional patterns of personal, hands-on community care and their skepticism of foreigners collided with Western medicine's more impersonal and aggressive approaches to disease control. A well-chosen selection of photographs underscores the text's focus on the valiant efforts of African and Western medical workers and volunteers who risk their lives for sufferers, and on patients who are forced to forego the TLC of human contact in the hope of saving themselves and protecting their families and communities from contamination. Although publisher notes suggest this might 'inform while helping to alleviate fears,' readers are not assuaged with an overly rosy view of Ebola's near future. An appended FAQ section notes that Westerners are in relatively better circumstances to contain an outbreak and support victims' general health while they fight the virus. However, while Newman's unsensationalized account leaves room for hope, it refuses to whitewash grim news.

A glossary, source notes, index, and resources for further information are included."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.