Jakarta Pandemic, The by Steven Konkoly Read Free Book Online

tomorrow.”
    “Hey, look at that. They’ve officially named it the China Crisis. How original. They should call it the Great Chinese Bend Over of 2013. Or Encore 2008,” Alex said sarcastically.
    “Do you ever quit?” She smirked, shaking her head.
    “I was being nice with ‘bend over.’ I can think of a few graphic terms that might better describe the situation,” he added, taunting her with a raised eyebrow.
    “I’m sure you can. Why don’t you change and grab the kids on your way back down. I’m pretty much done here.”
    “You got it,” he said and started to disappear up the stairs.
    Alex closed the bedroom door behind him as he pulled off his tie. He turned on the flat-screen TV, which took a few seconds to display a picture.
     
    “CDC officials have confirmed the flu strain as an H16 variant. Little is known about the new strain at this point, and many serious questions remain unanswered. So far, neither the CDC nor WHO has responded to demands for information. CNF news correspondent David Gervasey reports from ISPAC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. David?”
     
    “Denise, roughly fifteen minutes ago, we were fortunate to get a brief interview with one of their senior spokespersons, Dr. Allison Devreaux.”
     
    The screen changed to the previously recorded interview with Dr. Devreaux.
     
    “Dr. Devreaux, what can you tell us about the virus that we don’t already know?”
     
    “The virus has been classified as a new subtype H16,” she answered in a French accent. “The strain is classified as H16N1.
     
    “This subtype has never been seen before in humans or animals, so it is truly a novel strain. Right now, our own scientists are trying to match its genetic characteristics with previously seen subtype strains. In this way, we can make some rough predictions regarding its behavior.
     
    “We know that the virus is highly contagious, and its acquisition by a host leads to typical flu-like symptoms, including high fever, marked weakness and pulmonary distress. In essence, it behaves like a highly pathogenic disease. We know this from our investigation of an ever-increasing number of cluster outbreaks throughout the far Pacific Rim, and we are extremely confident that the strain found by ISPAC investigative teams outside of China is the same as the strain causing the outbreak inside of China.”
     
    “When do you anticipate further information to be available from your field teams?”
     
    “We receive constant reports and engage in discussions with these teams around the clock. When new information is verified, we will post this information on our website. You can also subscribe to our Pandemic News Alert service and receive automatic email updates as new information is posted. We are striving to pass all relevant information on to the public so that they can make the most informed decisions to prepare for a potential pandemic virus.”
     
    “Does this look like a pandemic on scale with the 2008 avian flu?”
     
    “Frankly, not enough information exists for us to draw any conclusions. The virus is highly contagious, certainly. At this time, we just don’t know anything regarding clinical attack rates, case fatality rates, infection and symptom timelines…all of the key parameters that allow us to project its spread and impact on the world’s population.
     
    “However, based on its efficient capacity for human to human transmission, I feel confident projecting that this virus will rapidly reach all corners of the globe. Let us hope that this virus in not as deadly as the avian flu. Thank you, David.”
     
    The screen cut back to a live broadcast from ISPAC headquarters in Atlanta. David Gervasey stood in front of the modern, ten-story glass and steel structure.
     
    “ You heard it here first, Denise. We’re going to remain in place to get the latest information as it becomes available.”
     
    “Thank you, David. As you can see, live ISPAC website information is located at