Epidemiology’s Fight Against Ebola

Question

by Carol Hand

Emile was a two-year-old boy living in Meliandou, a village in the West African nation of Guinea. In December 2013, Emile may have been bitten by a fruit bat, a common animal in West Africa. On December 26, he became ill. He died two days later. By January 14, his three-year-old sister, his mother, and his grandmother had also died. No one yet realized it, but researchers now believe Emile was patient zero—the first person to contract and begin spreading the Ebola virus during this outbreak. There have been more than two dozen Ebola outbreaks since the virus’s discovery in 1976. The 2014 outbreak quickly became by far the most devastating.

Excerpt from Epidemiology: The Fight Against Ebola & Other Diseases by Carol Hand published by ABDO Publishing © 2015 ABDO Consulting Group, Inc.

Question
Use the article excerpt to answer the question.

Which detail creates cohesion in this passage?

(1 point)
Responses

December
December

patient zero
patient zero

Emile
Emile

outbreak

Answer 1

The detail that creates cohesion in this passage is patient zero. This term links Emile's story to the broader context of the Ebola outbreak, indicating his significance in the chain of transmission and the subsequent outbreak.