Chapter 311 Still a familiar smell
"Jack? Why are you here?" This female medical doctor in her forties recognized someone at a glance.
Obviously, during the bioterrorist attack in Los Angeles using the hemorrhagic fever virus, the scene in which Jack went berserk and knocked the female terrorist unconscious with his headbutt left a deep impression on her.
"Wow, have you become the FBI?" Dr. Morgan took the initiative to reach out and shake Jack's hand.
Jack didn't expect to meet an acquaintance in Maryland, so he greeted her very warmly.
Jiejie led everyone into a conference room, closed the door and closed the blinds, thus blocking out the noisy people outside.
"This is Linda Kimura, director of our CDC's Special Pathogens Department." Dr. Morgan introduced a middle-aged Asian woman next to her.
He is not tall and has an unattractive appearance. He is probably in his early forties. He looks smart and capable, and his face does not wear the stereotypical Asian makeup that is common in European and American workplaces.
As a Japanese, if you don't judge by her surname, Jack is probably the only one among the people present who can tell her origin at a glance. This is also a special skill of the Seris people.
After a brief greeting, Dr. Kimura was introduced to everyone, and Dr. Morgan left in a hurry. Jack didn't know her current position, but she seemed to be higher than the director.
"I'm sorry to meet you under such circumstances." Dr. Kimura is obviously an immigrant of more than two or three generations, and he doesn't have the habit of bowing at all times like he did when he was young.
"So what's going on?" Rhett carried his small satchel again today, probably because he had to catch a flight all night, and looked bleary-eyed and haggard.
"Hurry up and start." Hotchner urged, his face looked a little ugly. It was obvious that he was one of the first people to see certain reports.
Jiejie took out a stack of information and began to perform her duties, starting with a general introduction to the situation and the progress of the case.
"A total of 25 people were admitted to emergency departments in Annapolis and the surrounding area last night, all of whom had been near the local Silent Hill Park after 2 p.m. yesterday."
"In less than 10 hours, the first death occurred. Now it's just 9 a.m. the next day, and there are already 12 people dead."
"Is it confirmed to be anthrax?" Jack looked through the pathological photos in the file. Black gangrene on the skin is a relatively typical clinical symptom, but the specific situation must be determined by experts.
"Anthrax is not that lethal." Rhett said with a frown.
"This strain is OK." Dr. Kimura confirmed concisely.
Jack raised his eyebrows, knowing clearly that since this was a weapons-grade strain leaked from the laboratory, the anthrax bacillus in nature was not difficult to deal with.
Common skin anthrax infections are not difficult to treat, especially if they are treated with antibiotics in the early stages. A series of antibiotics such as penicillin can deal with this thing.
Even for more serious direct lung infection anthrax, there are a lot of mature treatment options, and it is impossible to have such a high mortality rate.
With so many people dead and it developing so fast, there is only one possibility. This type of anthrax bacillus is not extracted from nature, but has been artificially optimized. It is not only immune to most antibiotics, but also reproduces at an alarming rate.
Because Bacillus anthracis kills by relying on the toxins it produces during its reproduction process, the reproduction rate determines the rate at which toxins accumulate in the human body.
Death cases occurred within ten hours, and nearly half of the 25 infected people died in less than 24 hours. It was a proper biochemical weapon level.
"Since the victim was infected in an open area like a park, it shows that the attacker most likely used dry powder dispersal."
"Usually, the lethal dose of inhaled anthrax is between 10,000 and 20,000 spores, and every 1g of Bacillus anthracis powder contains more than 1 trillion anthrax spores."
Rhett provides science popularization to everyone every day, but this time the content of his science popularization is chilling.
“If 112 pounds of anthrax spores are sprayed upwind of a city with a population of 500,000 along a two-kilometer line, 120,000 people will eventually become infected and 90,000 people will die. Even livestock and wild animals will not be spared. "
He paused and then said, "Based on the current toxicity of this strain, this number is likely to increase several times."
"Is there no vaccine?" Emily rubbed her arm.
"Yes, but the vaccine can only produce a certain level of protection one week after vaccination, and it will take at least two weeks to fully reach the level of protection." Dr. Kimura answered very quickly.
"Also, we cannot yet confirm whether the original anthrax vaccine is still effective against this strain."
"Have you tried all the commonly used antibiotics?" Forensic doctors are also doctors. Although Jack cheats every day, he still knows the basic medical principles.
"After it was confirmed that it was Bacillus anthracis, antibiotics were treated as soon as possible, but without any effect. The surviving patients have been transferred to the special ward at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center."
Dr. Kimura glanced at Jack and answered in the affirmative.
Jack rolled his eyes silently and did not pursue the question. He turned to look at Hotchner, "So what did Fort Detrick say?"
"We will work with military scientists at Fort Detrick," Hotchner replied.
"Is General Whitworth coming here?" Rossi clearly knew this area.
Hotchner nodded, "Yes, he and his people will be responsible for the control and elimination of infected areas and the analysis of strains."
There are some things that everyone knows very well. Not all of them are our own people here, so they are much more cautious in what they say.
Seeing everyone's silence, Emily took the initiative to change the topic, "So, what is our current response strategy?"
"How should we deal with those potential large target locations, airports, shopping malls, bus stations, etc.?"
"Block information and keep it strictly confidential from the media." Hotchner meant not to deal with it.
"Aren't you going to let the public know?" Emily's eyes widened.
"This is Maryland." Jack, who had already experienced a biological crisis, explained for Hotchner.
Many people may not know Annapolis, but knowing that this place is only 50 kilometers away from Washington, DC, is just a matter of stepping on the accelerator.
The threat of directly spreading dry powder of Bacillus anthracis spores is greater than the method of sending letters by mail in 2001. Once it is announced by the media, it will most likely cause a large-scale exodus of surrounding residents.
Then, riots and zero-dollar shopping will naturally follow. Maybe the number of people who will die in the riots will be much more than the casualties caused by these one or two small-scale biochemical attacks.