--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To mess around with Ebola is an easy way…" description: "\"To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.\" — Richard Preston" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png" --- # To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to… ![“To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.” quote by Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png) > “To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.” [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Playing with highly lethal pathogens like Ebola is reckless; opting for less dangerous agents such as anthrax reduces risk while still allowing study. **In simple terms:** Risky pathogen work vs. safer alternatives. Key Takeaway Choose manageable hazards for research. Themes bioethics risk management public health scientific responsibility danger perception Mood cautious serious informed Type warning cautionary advice When to use this quote - lab safety training - policy making on pathogen research - risk assessment for biotech projects Key Concepts pathogen safety research ethics bioterrorism potential Practical Applications - designing safer experimental protocols - educational modules on biosecurity Questions to Reflect On - What criteria determine a pathogen's safety for study? - How can we balance scientific insight with biosecurity? A Different Perspective While anthrax is also dangerous, it is not inherently safe; any pathogen work demands strict containment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anthrax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax/) [Die Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-better-353470/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Easy way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-way/) [Ebola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ebola/) [Ebola Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ebola-easy-423730/) [Mess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess/) [Mess Ebola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mess-ebola-423731/) [Safer Anthrax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/safer-anthrax-423732/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [You can’t fight off Ebola the way you fight off a cold. Ebola does in ten days what it takes AIDS ten years to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/you-can-t-fight-off-ebola-the-way-you-fight-off-a-cold-ebola-does-in/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Ebola Zaire attacks every organ and tissue in the human body except skeletal muscle and bone. It is a perfect parasite because it transforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/ebola-zaire-attacks-every-organ-and-tissue-in-the-human-body-except/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“The kill rate in humans infected with Ebola Zaire is nine out of ten. Ninety percent of the people who come down with Ebola…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-kill-rate-in-humans-infected-with-ebola-zaire-is-nine-out-of-ten/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [I live to die; better that than to live a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/i-live-to-die-better-that-than-to-live-a-lie/) [Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/) > [“We're married. I will protect you. I will die for you. Better than that. I will live for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-connealy/we-re-married-i-will-protect-you-i-will-die-for-you-better-than-that/) [Mary Connealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-connealy/) > [I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-now-the-most-miserable-man-living-if-what-i-feel-equally/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [By definition, you have to live until you die. Better to make that life as complete and enjoyable an experience as possible, in case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/by-definition-you-have-to-live-until-you-die-better-to-make-that-life/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [ “If you have to die \[...\] better to go down fighting. Better to die in company. Better not be the last, and alone, weighed… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bear/if-you-have-to-die-better-to-go-down-fighting-better-to-die-in/) [Elizabeth Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bear/) > [Your father has to die, better he dies in your arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ford/your-father-has-to-die-better-he-dies-in-your-arms/) [Richard Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ford/) > [... it is better to study how to live rather than how to die; ... it is better to have a religion of deeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/it-is-better-to-study-how-to-live-rather-than-how-to-die-it-is-better/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Then out spake brave Horatius, The Captain of the Gate: 'To every man upon this earth Death cometh soon or late. And how can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-out-spake-brave-horatius-the-captain-of-the-gate-to-every-man/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't know what's waiting for us when we die--something better, something worse. I only know I'm not ready to find out yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/i-don-t-know-what-s-waiting-for-us-when-we-die-something-better/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [“At times, we need to let our choices die, for us to get a better direction in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/at-times-we-need-to-let-our-choices-die-for-us-to-get-a-better/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“We must be content to grow slowly. Most of us will still barely be at the beginning of our recovery by the time we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-tugwell/we-must-be-content-to-grow-slowly-most-of-us-will-still-barely-be-at/) [Simon Tugwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-tugwell/) > [In this land some of us fuck more than we die but most of us die better than we fuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-this-land-some-of-us-fuck-more-than-we-die-but-most-of-us-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Richard Preston > [“Nine out of ten humans killed? And you're not bothered." A look of mysterious thoughtfulness crossed his face. "A virus can be useful to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/nine-out-of-ten-humans-killed-and-you-re-not-bothered-a-look-of/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“A good businessman is hard to bruise and quick to heal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/a-good-businessman-is-hard-to-bruise-and-quick-to-heal/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [The best way to know what's in the soup, is to boil yourself in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-best-way-to-know-what-s-in-the-soup-is-to-boil-yourself-in-it/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“He becomes dizzy and utterly weak, and his spine goes limp and nerveless and he loses all sense of balance. The room is turning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/he-becomes-dizzy-and-utterly-weak-and-his-spine-goes-limp-and/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [Humans in space suits make monkeys nervous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/humans-in-space-suits-make-monkeys-nervous/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Ebola Zaire attacks every organ and tissue in the human body except skeletal muscle and bone. It is a perfect parasite because it transforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/ebola-zaire-attacks-every-organ-and-tissue-in-the-human-body-except/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Jahrling sat down at his desk and sighed. There was a landfill of papers on his desk, mostly about smallpox, and it was discouraging.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/jahrling-sat-down-at-his-desk-and-sighed-there-was-a-landfill-of/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“we could eradicate smallpox from nature, but we could not uproot the virus from the human heart”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/we-could-eradicate-smallpox-from-nature-but-we-could-not-uproot-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“C.J. had spoken longingly of finding the African termite queen, the glistening white sac that was half a foot long and as thick as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/c-j-had-spoken-longingly-of-finding-the-african-termite-queen-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [During climbs into taller trees, I was occasionally able to look down on the backs of birds, which shine with reflected sunlight as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/during-climbs-into-taller-trees-i-was-occasionally-able-to-look-down/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [The Ludolphian number is fixed in eternity— not a digit out of place, all characters in their proper order, an endless sentence written to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-ludolphian-number-is-fixed-in-eternity-not-a-digit-out-of-place/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“Your mouth bleeds, and you bleed around your teeth, and you may have hemorrhages from the salivary glands—literally every opening in the body bleeds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/your-mouth-bleeds-and-you-bleed-around-your-teeth-and-you-may-have/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“One room in the hospital had not been cleaned up. No one, not even the nuns, had had the courage to enter the obstetric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/one-room-in-the-hospital-had-not-been-cleaned-up-no-one-not-even-the/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [It showed a kind of obscenity you see only in nature, an obscenity so extreme that it dissolves imperceptibly into beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/it-showed-a-kind-of-obscenity-you-see-only-in-nature-an-obscenity-so/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) > [“The kill rate in humans infected with Ebola Zaire is nine out of ten. Ninety percent of the people who come down with Ebola…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/the-kill-rate-in-humans-infected-with-ebola-zaire-is-nine-out-of-ten/) [Richard Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) [Explore all 36 Richard Preston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/) ## More Anthrax quotes > [Liberals compare Jerry Falwell to the Taliban, but then are furious with George Bush for not being Jesus Christ. Evidently, what a president is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/liberals-compare-jerry-falwell-to-the-taliban-but-then-are-furious/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [If you take the biological weapons in the United States we still will have perhaps a single individual who was able to make anthrax,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/if-you-take-the-biological-weapons-in-the-united-states-we-still-will/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [When World War II came along, which was when I was a teenager, we all expected we would have anthrax bombs and this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/when-world-war-ii-came-along-which-was-when-i-was-a-teenager-we-all/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [The biological agents we believe Iraq can produce include anthrax, botulinum, toxin, aflatoxin and ricin. All eventually result in excruciatingly painful death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/the-biological-agents-we-believe-iraq-can-produce-include-anthrax/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Well germ warfare of course exists. There have been on a small scale... There have been, of course, a few people who got killed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/well-germ-warfare-of-course-exists-there-have-been-on-a-small-scale/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [It's not anthrax or terrorism or AIDS that is the worst ill in our world: The most horrible disease in the world is hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/it-s-not-anthrax-or-terrorism-or-aids-that-is-the-worst-ill-in-our/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [I acknowledge the right of the authorities and the press to satisfy themselves as to whether I am the anthrax mailer. This does not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/i-acknowledge-the-right-of-the-authorities-and-the-press-to-satisfy/) [Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/) > [Metal is easily my favorite thing - Exodus and Anthrax and Megadeth - so it just kind of organically came through in the standup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/metal-is-easily-my-favorite-thing-exodus-and-anthrax-and-megadeth-so/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [Later, I went down to the Washington field office and an onsite polygraph was administered. After reviewing the polygraph charts in private, the polygraph…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/later-i-went-down-to-the-washington-field-office-and-an-onsite-2/) [Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/) > [“I thought we stopped using grunts as guinea pigs decades ago. Even the Nazis didn't run medical experiments on their own troops in combat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-matsumoto/i-thought-we-stopped-using-grunts-as-guinea-pigs-decades-ago-even-the/) [Gary Matsumoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-matsumoto/) > [“What's the point of truth or beauty or knowledge when the anthrax bombs are popping all around you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/what-s-the-point-of-truth-or-beauty-or-knowledge-when-the-anthrax/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [You never get quite down to the bottom of the barrel, but we are much higher than that at the present time. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/you-never-get-quite-down-to-the-bottom-of-the-barrel-but-we-are-much/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [Iran aggressively pursues these weapons and exports terror, while an unelected few repress the Iranian people's hope for freedom. The Iraqi regime has plotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/iran-aggressively-pursues-these-weapons-and-exports-terror-while-an/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [After eight months of one of the most intensive public and private investigations in American history, no one - no one - has come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-hatfill/after-eight-months-of-one-of-the-most-intensive-public-and-private/) [Steven Hatfill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-hatfill/) > [“Plasma blasts scald asphalt; napalm blasts parch macadam (glass shards act as haphazard abradants that sandblast all landwrack)...A mad labman at a lab crafts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-b-k/plasma-blasts-scald-asphalt-napalm-blasts-parch-macadam-glass-shards/) [Christian Bök](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-b-k/) [Browse all 47 Anthrax quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anthrax/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Preston" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Anthrax" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb6/richard-preston-17899_anthrax_to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way_30005.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To mess around with Ebola is an easy way to die. Better to work with something safer, such as anthrax.” — Richard Preston", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Preston", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-preston/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To mess around with Ebola is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-preston/to-mess-around-with-ebola-is-an-easy-way-to-die-better-to-work-with/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```