The Laptev Virus

“I just feel that abandoning the research that my team has been doing on AIDS just as it was on the cusp of being something really great for humanity, is not something we should do lightly,” said Sarah, hoping to talk some sense into her boss.

“Believe me, I’m fully aware of the advances your team has made,” Rhonda said, smiling. She spoke daggers in the tone of roses.

Sarah opened her mouth to interject, but Rhonda raised her hand, palm outward, to stop her. “I am fully aware,” she repeated, “and what’s more, I promise that as soon as we make some headway on this new deadly megavirus, we will have you back on track with your AIDS research.”

Sarah pursed her lips. She was not mollified but she dared not resist. When Rhonda had first taken over as head of Infectious Disease Investigation (IDI) several years ago, she had quickly dispensed with researchers who did not want to investigate in the areas that she considered most important. It was Rhonda’s prerogative and indeed, her duty, Sarah knew, to be sure that the IDI conformed to the lines of study that would bring in the most prestige and money to the university, so she understood that Rhonda was not merely being tyrannical with her directives. Still, it was painful for Sarah to surrender a line of study that she had invested so much time and effort to develop.

“Now, before you get all defensive on me, let me tell you something else,” said Rhonda in a less strident tone. She was wearing a dark maroon suit with a cream colored blouse. A simple gold chain adorned her once athletic neck. The outfit was very different from the jeans, sneakers and cotton blouses that Sarah wore to work, though her clothes were generally covered by a long, white lab coat. Rhonda leaned back in her chair and tipped her head to the side as she spoke, as if it was a little too heavy from all the CDC experience it contained.

“Riesigoil has promised that they will make this little ‘detour’ worthwhile for us. According to Oscar, the number on the table right now is in the millions of dollars, and given their history with this institution and the urgency of their request, he felt certain we could count on the money.”

Sarah’s eyes widened. Oscar was the president of the UT campus in Houston, and if he was involved, that meant that this assignment was even more important than she had originally thought.

“Oh, wow,” Sarah said, temporarily at a loss for further words. Securing enough money to sustain research labs like hers, paying for supplies and equipment costs, was a perpetual problem at universities. Copious amounts of researchers’ time and energy were used in applying for grants to fund research. For the first time, Sarah found herself warming to the idea.

“Yes, it’s a huge deal, Sarah, so humor me for six weeks or so. It could be less. They said they didn’t think it would need to be for a longer time period since Megaviridae are a really hot topic and laboratories all over the world are focused on the problem they are having up in the Arctic. It’s not in the media yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a lot of eyes on it.”

“Do we know anything about the mode of transmission?”

Rhonda exhaled and reached for a folder on her desk which she slid over to Sarah. “At this time we’re not sure how it’s transmitted, though it will likely be through aerosols as the people in the field were pretty covered up.”

As Sarah flipped through the papers in the folder she ran her left hand through her ponytail. It was something she always did when she was worried or alarmed. Viruses that were transmitted on tiny droplets of moisture in the air, aerosols, were the most difficult ones to prevent from spreading. The common flu and avian flu viruses were also transmitted in this manner. Released from throats or nasal passages, in the form of sneezes and coughs, these viruses could travel quite far.

The highly contagious measles virus could linger in the air for up to two hours after leaving the throat of an infected person, waiting patiently to infect its next victim, as the parents of unvaccinated children who went to amusement parks could attest.

“Ebola and HIV viruses, as you well know,” said Rhonda, “are only spread through direct contact of infected bodily fluids with the blood of the recipient. Even tiny cuts on the skin or in the mouth could admit these deadly pathogens, and thus they spread all too rapidly in vulnerable populations. But this new pathogen seems to begin its infection in the lungs.”

Sarah watched Rhonda attentively as she spoke. Her short brown hair was styled attractively around her face, where it remained locked stiffly in place, like castle walls guarding the treasure inside. Heavy black eyeliner wound the circumference of her large dark eyes and her crimson lipstick, which matched her suit, was applied perfectly to her handsome lips, seeming to reflect ruby glints of light as she spoke.