Jakarta Pandemic, The by Steven Konkoly Page A

cases all started along routes from Hong Kong. In several sites we’ve identified patients who can be traced back to Jakarta, and in most of these cases, based on the progression of disease, we are confident that they were sick when they left Jakarta.
     
    “China has a very cozy economic relationship with Indonesia and is one of very few countries whose citizens enjoy unhampered travel within Indonesia. Maybe because of this relationship, China took on a higher proportion of sick Indonesians than the rest of the Asiatic region. My money is on Jakarta,” Dr. Ocampo said.
     
    “Regardless of the epicenter, it’s clear that a deadly virus is out and spreading,” he added.
     
    “Should we keep the kids out of school from this point forward?” Kate whispered.
     
    “Probably not a bad idea,” Alex said, without taking his eyes off the screen as Lester asked another question.
     
    “Where does your organization plan to go from here?”
     
    “Where do we go from here? Well, our organization is tiny compared to the WHO and is mostly an investigative body. Our main objective is to learn as much as possible about this new virus. We know it’s highly contagious. We know it’s highly pathogenic, meaning that if you are exposed to it, you are very likely to get sick from it. I’d like to know what happens when the virus takes root in a patient. A behavioral map so to say.
     
    “Then, we want to know about the symptoms, especially the progression of symptoms. Is there an immediate risk of death like that seen in the 1918 Spanish flu? How long until pulmonary complications arise? Everything. The more we know, the more we can predict and help direct national and international strategy.”
     
    “How far away are you from establishing this behavioral timeline?”
     
    “Lester, I believe a rough timeline will be available shortly, possibly in an upcoming press release. Sorry if I sound like I’m dodging your question. Everything related to H16N1’s behavior is very preliminary.”
     
    “Dr. Ocampo, do you have any recommendations for our viewers? Something they can do right now to help prepare and protect their families from the possibility of a deadly pandemic.”
     
    “Sure, Lester. Individual families can log onto our website and obtain pandemic preparedness checklists, or call our toll-free number and this list will be read to the caller by an automated system. The best way to safeguard your family is to execute as many items on those checklists as possible, starting from the top of the checklists. The more important items and tasks are listed first.”
     
    “Can you give our viewers more specific advice?”
     
    “Sure, just remember that the lists are detailed, but if you start at the top, you’ll hit the most important items. As for specific advice, in a nutshell, I would recommend that you buy as much nonperishable food and water as possible and avoid contact with others.”
     
    “Thank you very much, Dr. Ocampo. Best of luck to you and your teams.”
     
    “The pleasure is all mine.”
     
    “And now to Karen Hill for our international news update.”
     
    Kate turned the TV off. “FBC seems to love Dr. Ocampo.”
    “Looks like they’re the only ones that love him. He just schooled that WHO idiot live on millions of TV sets nationwide. That was great,” Alex said.
    “That was definitely not a good showing for the WHO. What do you think about the Indonesia link that Ocampo brought up?” she asked him.
    “Who knows? Ever since that place went hardcore Muslim, nobody really knows what’s going on there,” he said.
    Their home phone rang, and he walked over to remove the handset from the cordless phone charger on Kate’s nightstand. He looked at the caller ID. “Maine call.”
    I’ll bet that’s Sarah calling from Hannigan’s.
    He answered the call. “Alex Fletcher.”
    “Hey, Alex, it’s Sarah. Hannigan’s is mobbed. I wouldn’t even bother trying to head over here. It’ll be empty