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Abstract
This article examines the manner in which post-Cold War U.S. public discourse about biological terrorism has been inflected by the intertextuality of U.S. encounters with viruses such as Ebola. In particular, the rhetorical legacy of Richard Preston's book, The Hot Zone, carries several powerful yet often unacknowledged premises regarding the magnitude and likelihood of bioterrorism into public debates about biological threats. The article explores this intertextuality in public argumentation about biodefense preparations and public health advocacy related to the 2001 anthrax attacks by analyzing the persuasive functions of the public vocabulary and cultural maps relied upon in making sense out of biological threats.