Disease Cowboys -- Riding in the Hot Zone

A short pitch for a series focusing on the medical/scientific teams that risk their lives going into the hot zones to keep the world safe from killer viruses.

Riding In The Hot Zone With The Disease Cowboys

Working with the Centers for Disease Control we’ll see how a small group of scientists, the so-called, Disease Cowboys, scour the globe to keep us ahead in the battle against life threatening infectious diseases.

Unpurified drinking water, improper use of antibiotics, local warfare, massive refugee migrations, changing social and environmental conditions around the world, have fostered the spread of new and mutated ancient viruses and diseases that are all potentially devastating.  In the battles against such virulent foes as HIV, Ebola, Lassa Fever, bubonic plague and others, we’ll see how these strike forces race to find the source and control these outbreaks before they spread around the globe.

It’s a dangerous job that runs counter to our notions of the lab-coated, nerdy scientist often seen in movies and on TV.  But these John Waynes, armed with test tubes not six guns, are our best hope for keeping these disease outlaws at bay.