Chapter 166: Ebola (9)

In Kivu, the eastern region of Congo

Aack! Unamu Stang, a Hutu child soldier, screamed from his tent.

All the adults who were coughing from exhaustion last night had collapsed. They all coughed up a handful of blood as well. Everyone in the FDLRs army[1] were on the floor except Unamu, who went to Rwanda to sell tungsten.

Uncle! Uncle!

Unamu shook one of the bodies. He put his finger on the mans mustache to see if he was breathing. He couldnt feel anything.

Unamus legs gave out.

Uncle

The man who was on the floor was a soldier of the FDLR who had raised Unamu, an orphan, since he was a baby and taught him how to shoot. He was one of the kindest people among the adults who were always abusive and violent. He was like a father to Unamu.

Ah Ha

Unamu frantically ran out of the tent in fear. But then, he saw something in the dense jungle that brought him to a halt. He saw several dead gorillas lying on the floor exactly like the adults. A thought flashed through Unamus head.

Ebola.

Chills ran through Unamus body. Ebola was a killer far more terrifying than guns or landmines; it was the top predator that ruled Africa. Ebola quietly entered the tent like a silent assassin, killed everyone, and left.

MMaybe me too

Unamu had been here for a while. He had already touched the corpses.

Ahhh

Unamu wanted to cut off the hand he touched them with. Unamu, who fell to the floor in fear, began crying.

Dont move!

Suddenly, someone from behind pointed a gun at the back of Unamus head. There were dozens of soldiers.

Congolese army. Put the gun down, the lieutenant said.

...

Unamu put his gun on the floor.

HHelp me

Help you with what?

All the adults are unconscious We surrender

What are you talking about? The adults are all unconscious?

The lieutenant tilted his head in confusion.

Cough!

A soldier from the Congolese army covered his mouth all of a sudden. It was Corporal Litui who had been complaining about being tired and how he was coming down from a few days ago. Blood oozed from the cracks of his hand.

WWhat?

The lieutenants eyes widened.

I dont think Im feeling very goo

Litui collapsed to the floor, grabbing the tree next to him. He stared at his comrades in fear. Everyone was already three meters from him.

... Everyone back to their places. Assist Litui, and put this kid in handcuffs, the lieutenant ordered.

AAssist? the soldier who was next to Litui asked in surprise.

Do I have to say it twice! Assist him!

But

Sir

The soldiers all frowned.

...

Sir Help me Litui said in a dying voice.

But no one could move. They couldnt touch Litui, as if he was an anti-tank mind that was about to go off.

Suddenly, someone broke the silence.

IIll help him said Unamu, the Hutu child soldier.

What?

The lieutenant glared at him.

I might already be infected I touched other peoples bodies.

...

But please consider this as a mitigating factor during the court-martial.

... I promise.

Unamu cautiously approached Litui. He wrapped Lituis arm around his shoulder and helped him up. Now that he was up close to Lituis face, his face seemed somewhat familiar to Unamu. He also had a mustache, like the man who had cared for Unamu.

The lieutenant, who had returned to the Congolese army base, found something shocking.

The government in Kinshasa sent this to us this morning.

[A-Bio]

There was a truckload of vials with A-Bios logo on it.

They said its the Ebola treatment.

* * *

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo quickly surpassed three hundred thousand.

The real battle starts now. Stay focused! Michelle shouted at the Disaster Response Committee. This Ebola is going to attack in waves, and this is only the first. After this attack, there will be a second and third wave.

Michelle went on.

Ebola does not spread when it is in its incubation period, but the infection can spread through bodily fluids when people start showing symptoms. Since there are already three hundred thousand patients, the infection will spread to people who are around them.

Michelle opened a color-coded map that showed the statistics of densely populated areas and the number of confirmed cases.

We have to vaccinate as many people as possible and secure more of the treatment before it spreads again.

We have already started vaccinating people. But were not able to right now because we dont have enough vaccines, said one of the scientists from the Ministry of Public Health.

Everyone looked terrible. Even the soldiers who were in the civil war in Kivu probably werent this exhausted.

What about the amount of the treatment?

Fortunately, were good for now. I dont know if it will be enough to stop the second or third wave, but we bought quite a lot from A-Bio, right? Nazir said.

Thats a relief. What about the eastern region?

We sent them a significant amount of treatments and vaccines as well.

Good.

But maam an employee from the Ministry of Public Health said. Do we have to give the treatment to the rebels in Kivu?

... Give it to them. Thats the Presidents order.

Hes not the president right now. And hes not running for reelection

Are you against giving it to them?

The employee sighed.

My entire family died because of the rebels terrorist attack.

...

Michelle bit her lip.

Everyone, think like scientists, she said. One more infected person means one more flaw in our prevention of Ebola. You know that the virus can spread further through that person and cause more damage, right?

...

Even if we are pointing guns at each other, shouldnt we work together if aliens come to conquer us? The same goes for Ebola. Share the treatment with the rebels in the East like we planned.

Okay, but

But?

To be honest, I dont know if the Congolese army in the East will follow those orders.

... Well, its chaotic enough here, and Im not sure I can control them, so Lets just trust them. By the way, where is Doctor Ryu?

I saw him the other morning, but he said that he needed to go somewhere. We havent heard from him since.

Phew, alright. Lets set up the quarantine as we planned and proceed.

* * *

The World Health Organization was on alert and watching this situation extremely carefully. A total of ten thousand people died in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, but the number of infected cases had already passed three hundred thousand in Congo alone. A million people died in the biggest civil war in Congo, but that was over the span of several years.

Now, Ebola had created three hundred thousand infected people on the first day of the outbreak.

In addition, the fatality rate of Ebola was extremely high. Statistics varied, but the rate ranged from sixty to even ninety percent. There was no telling what kind of consequences this mad biological disaster would have.

We have to think that it has already spread from Congo to neighboring areas.

A WHO[2] meeting was held in Kenya, Africa. Along with the International Vaccine Institute, people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and WHO scientists and doctors from the United States and Europe gathered here in the morning. It was to plan measures to contain the spread of the infection and stop the infection from spreading to their own countries. But everyone who gathered had a solemn expression and didnt speak for a while.

Doctor Park So-Yeon, how is the diagnostic kit coming along? Doctor Kevin from the International Vaccine Institute asked.

The diagnostic kit was originally developed to be used in developed countries in Asia and the United States. Ebola isnt part of the diagnosable diseases. I developed it more to include Ebola in the diagnostic kit after I got here, but the efficiency is still low, said Park So-Yeon, who was working at the WHO in Kenya.

... Well, I guess the infection has never spread like this there

The scientists nodded

The entire jungle, including the Kivu region in eastern Congo, has been infected by Ebola and anthracis. We have to assume that Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Angola have also been infected.

Kenya has shown no signs of infections so far.

I hope it does not spread here. Lets reinforce the quarantine now and stop the spread.

Thankfully, Uganda and Kenya havent had any major conflicts. You can probably just send them a letter asking for their cooperation.

As she listened to the scientists talk, Park So-Yeon opened her phone.

Oh!

Her eyes widened.

What is it? asked the doctor who was sitting next to her.

Oh, nnothing. Its nothing.

Park So-Yeon opened the email. It was from Young-Joon.

[Ebola wont spread to neighboring countries. Please tell that to the WHO. Work with the neighboring governments and prevent a pandemic.]

[Attached file: ProjectName_Anthracisfence.pdf]

It was a short and concise email. Young-Joon knew that Park So-Yeon had joined the WHO and was working in Africa.

...

Anthracis fence? What is this?

Park So-Yeon opened the file.

* * *

Anthracis and Ebola did not cross the borders of Congo. All the scientists fears were put to rest.

Young-Joon planned the Anthracis Fence operation when he was almost finished developing the Ebola vaccine for anthracis. He used his GSC membership and contacted the health ministries in neighboring countries. He informed them of the Ebola virus connection to anthracis and requested a video conference using Skype.

Ebola can use anthracis as a new infection route, and the contagiousness of anthrax increased as well. It is mainly in the jungles, and it cannot be eliminated easily because it can grow in the ground. The continuously produced virus contaminates the entire area, Young-Joon said in his hotel room.

Health officials from various governments were left speechless when Young-Joon provided them with some relevant data.

The cities of Congo have already been infected. Your country shares a border with Congo, but it hasnt spread there yet. Thats a relief, but it will spread soon.

The health officials in each country all had some base knowledge about Ebola and anthracis because they were long-standing diseases in Africa. They knew it was going to spread soon. Young-Joon was saying that it hadnt crossed the border, but they could never be sure; it could have already spread.

...

The health officials froze for a moment. After a long silence, the secretary of Uganda's Ministry of Health spoke up.

Then, should we close the borders and quarantine now?

The other health officials looked at the secretary. It seemed like they were wondering if they, the health officials, should be asking Young-Joon this question. However, the situation was so dire that they were desperate for a clear answer.

There is one way, Young-Joon said. I have a new drug that makes anthracis resistant to the Ebola virus. Lets spray it on the border and jungles of your country and build a fence to keep Ebola out.

This was the key aspect in the Anthracis Fence project.

Its already too late in Congo, but they can fight it alone because they already have a large amount of treatment and vaccines.

Young-Joon explained further.

But not the neighboring countries, like Rwanda. Things will get out of hand if Ebola crosses the border. To prevent a pandemic, we need to keep Ebola contained in Congo.

The Anthracis Fence project was similar to a sticky fly trap. The Ebola virus, which had been traveling through bodily fluids, would swarm to the anthracis in nearby jungles and infect it. However, the virus wouldnt be able to reproduce there; it would be eliminated by the anthracis because it would have received the vaccine and be immunized against Ebola.

The evolved form of Ebola became highly infectious through anthracis. Rosalines analysis showed that more than eighty percent of Ebolas infection route depended on anthracis. In other words, it meant that they could control eighty percent of the spread if they could get to that route.

The quarantine that humans make has flaws, but not the one microorganisms make, Young-Joon said.

Im sorry, but What about when it is transmitted through human contact? asked the health official from Angola.

We are going to control all the infected patients in Congo, Young-Joon said.

1. acronym for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

2. World Health Organization