St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
In a national hospital, a special patient is being rushed in by ambulance.
"Make way, please make way!"
The nurse pushed the patient all the way to the emergency room.
The doctor who was prepared was already waiting inside.
The patient was a middle-aged black woman. She seemed to be suffering from asthma and suffocation, and her expression looked extremely painful.
The doctor took out a pair of medical scissors and cut open the middle-aged patient's shirt, revealing his red chest.
I reached out and touched it, and it was even a little hot.
"Immediately cool the patient physically! Inject analgesics and prepare for an endoscopic examination of the respiratory tract..."
The attending physician gave orders to his assistant one by one, while his own hands were constantly busy, helping to connect the sensor equipment to various parts of the patient's body.
After working for more than an hour, the patient's condition was temporarily controlled using physical cooling and a ventilator.
Dr. Irwin came out of the emergency room with a tired look on his face.
At this time, people from the CDC were already waiting for him outside, a person related to the medical field and two people who acted like bodyguards.
"Hello, Dr. Irwin, we are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and here are my credentials."
The leading woman showed her ID.
Ivan looked at it and silently read in his mind: 'Josephine, virology expert.'
"Let's talk while we walk."
Ivan seemed to have little interest in their arrival and walked towards the bathroom without stopping.
"Doctor, for the case just now, which one is the first one you have taken over?"
This is exactly what Alvin is worried about.
"It's the twenty-third one, and I still can't find the reason."
As if he had thought of something, he turned and spoke to the brown-haired woman.
"However, the patient is not contagious, and the disease is not caused by the virus."
The bathroom had already been reached, and Alvin walked to the sink, turned on the faucet to wash his face, using the cold water to refresh himself.
"Can you tell me about your findings?"
The woman showed the courtesy of a seeker of knowledge, without the arrogance of a government worker.
"The first case was about three weeks ago and I thought it was caused by inhalation of hot gas which caused burns to my airways and lungs."
Irving looked reminiscent.
"Although it seems serious, it is not hopeless."
"However, the patient was found dead three days later, which was beyond our expectations!"
"Then, the second case appeared two days after the death of the first patient. A week later, three more cases appeared. Two weeks later, seven more cases appeared in succession. After that, similar patients were sent to the hospital almost every day. The one just now was the third one today."
The woman's expression was solemn.
"According to your report, there have been no deaths since the second patient, right?"
Ivan nodded.
"Come on, let's go see him."
…
In the ward, a pale-faced white man was breathing with difficulty with the help of a respirator.
When I saw Alvin come in, I could only greet him with my eyes.
"Ben, you look much better!"
Ivan smiled and said something to the patient, then signaled with his eyes to the three people behind him who were already wearing masks to be careful with their words.
Josephine observed the patient carefully.
He was lying on a bed that was one size larger than an ordinary bed. In addition to the respirator, there was also a ring-shaped ice pack on his chest. Judging from a small freezer next to him, the ice pack should be replaced regularly for the patient.
Ivan noticed that they were looking at the freezer and motioned for the three to leave the ward.
Only after they got outside and closed the door did Alvin begin to explain.
"Physical cooling is the most effective and essential control method. If the lungs and respiratory tract are not cooled, the patient's chest and lung temperature can reach nearly 45 degrees Celsius within three days, and there are signs of continued increase. I believe that the first patient passed away in the middle of the night."
"So what happens after physical cooling?"
Ivan forced a smile.
"I am a fairly competent doctor. With physical cooling, I can relieve the patient's pain through medication, and the signs of burns in the respiratory tract and lungs are also showing a tendency to heal on their own."
"But there is another problem. Even if the patient has recovered to a certain extent and is no longer under physical cooling, the patient's chest and lung temperature will still rise, and the patient will always appear listless and physically exhausted."
In order to avoid misunderstanding, Alvin made a special explanation.
"It's not the decline in physical fitness caused by illness. I mean the physical exhaustion that is beyond the normal range. The injury to the chest and lungs is not so severe that it is difficult to even lift a hand."
Josephine looked at her companion, frowned, and looked through the window in the door at the "second patient" in the ward.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Dr. Irwin. I think starting tomorrow, there may be no more patients like this sent to this hospital."
Irwin looked at her.
"The CDC is going to take over? But this disease is not contagious, why are you giving up the medical resources of normal hospitals?"
Josephine smiled and looked at Ivan.
"We are not giving up the medical resources of normal hospitals. For example, you, Dr. Irwin, we need your help."
…
At this time, the 19th Organization Department of the National Special Security Department was not aware of the small-scale special disease in St. Louis, or it had not yet reached the level that attracted attention.
In addition to their current discoveries and domestic situations, they also closely followed the movements of the French.
It turned out that those baguettes were really good-for-nothings. Judging from the information sent back by Baru and the spies, those guys didn't get any valuable information at all.
Instead, Baru discovered an unusual incident occurring in France and notified the French authorities in a covert manner, thus preventing France from suffering certain losses. He also sent back the information on how the French handled the incident.
What is worrying is that the mutation was not one of the "regular" mutations previously discovered around the world, but a new and inexplicable mutation, which the French authorities called the "death maze."
Half of the people in the small village showed a state of mental disorder and began to commit suicide. Several suicides occurred in a short period of time.
The French authorities also handled the situation simply by forcibly removing all the people in the village and sealing off the village.
The people who were taken away were relieved through medication and returned to normal after 48 hours. They all told the authorities that they had nightmares for several days. Some said there were monsters in the village, while others believed they were poisoned.
The fact is, there are no monsters and no toxins, and there is no problem as long as people do not stay in there for more than 6 hours, and the time does not overlap. If one person comes out after 5 hours, another person goes in at this time and still has a 6-hour limit.
Since the scope did not seem to have expanded and there was no overreaction, the French authorities decided to "isolate and study".
This is what Norton was thinking about, this kind of difficult example.
"If this happened in America, how would we deal with it? Like the French?"
"Ding-ling-ling-ling~~Ding-ling-ling-ling~~"
The phone on the table happened to ring at this moment.
Norton was now half lying down, with his feet on the table, so he just kicked the phone with his foot and it fell accurately into his outstretched left hand.
"Hey, sir, there might be something wrong with the new type of lung fever found in a section of St. Louis!"
New type of lung fever? What is it?
"Let me be clear. Is it that the disease is uncontrollable or that it is contagious?"
Basically, when it comes to a new disease, these are the only two questions Norton can think of.
"No, the disease can be controlled, and effective treatment methods have been found. Moreover, the disease is not contagious..."
FUCK! Are you kidding me?
However, his subordinates immediately made a supplement.
"But the cause of this disease cannot be found, and it only occurs in the Bevo area. The number is on the rise. I have already sent you the information about the patients' conditions."
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