THE HOT ZONE recap draws nearly 200 attendees

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Nancy and Jerry Jaax speak to nearly 200 attendees at THE HOT ZONE event.

Nancy Jaax tells audience members at THE HOT ZONE event that the series features a "great portrayal of the lab."

One hundred and ninety-seven people of all ages attended the July 15 event, "THE HOT ZONE: An evening with Nancy and Jerry Jaax."

The event, a collaboration by Kansas State University and Johnson County Community College, featured Nancy and Jerry Jaax discussing various clips from the recently released National Geographic series, THE HOT ZONE, and answering audience questions.

Kansas State University President Richard Myers provided opening remarks and moderated the event.

THE HOT ZONE is inspired by the true story of the arrival of Ebola on U.S. soil in 1989 in Reston, Virginia. The story involves Nancy and Jerry Jaax, both of whom graduated with veterinary medicine degrees from Kansas State University. During their service in medical defense with the U.S. Army, they became involved in the events depicted in the series.

Nancy and Jerry Jaax discussed what was going through their minds as they were living through the events portrayed in several of the clips; what it's like to work with highly infectious diseases; how key moments in some of the scenes were filmed; and more.

Following the clips, two fellows from the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders spoke about the recent Ebola outbreaks in Africa and some of the reasons why Africa may be more susceptible to Ebola than other parts of the world.

The fellows were guests of honor at the event.

Abass Mamud Sesay, one of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, tells attendees about the outbreaks of Ebola in Africa.

Following the Ebola-related events of 1989 and after stellar military careers, Jerry and Nancy returned to Manhattan and Kansas State University. Jerry served in a prominent research leadership position to further the university's biodefense mission. Nancy participated in innumerable infectious disease initiatives at the university.

The National Geographic six-part limited series THE HOT ZONE is based on Richard Preston's 1994 bestselling novel by the same name. Julianna Margulies played Lt. Col. Nancy Jaax and Noah Emmerich played Lt. Col. Jerry Jaax.