Chapter 160: Ebola (3)

Chapter 160: Ebola (3)

“Anthracis?” Young-Joon’s eyes widened. Michelle nodded her head with a worried expression.

“Anthracis are bacteria that can live in the ground. If it makes spores underground, it can live for thirty years. Most sterilization methods don’t work, and the damage is continuous.

“...”

“It’s nothing new. Anthrax is one of the oldest diseases in Africa.”

“Has the Ebola virus gone into anthracis?”

“I don’t know for sure, but what we do know is that genes from the Ebola virus were found in the soil at the village of Bakori, where the first Ebola patient was from.”

It was difficult to find a virus, something difficult to observe even with a microscope, in dirt. So, how was Michelle able to detect the presence of a virus? A technology called PCR could be used to amplify the virus’ genes in the suspected contaminated soil. If the gene was amplified, it meant that it was present, and if it wasn’t, it probably wasn’t present.

“But we found the genes of anthracis and Ebola in the dirt,” Michelle said. “Doctor Ryu, as you know, Ebola is not a virus found in soil. The virus spreads from organism to organism and is transmitted through bodily fluids.”

“Yes.”

Young-Joon tapped his lip in thought, then had something he was curious about.

“But why did you try to detect Ebola and anthracis genes in soil? I don’t think it's common to look at the soil of an Ebola-infected area.”

“You’re right and wrong,” Michelle said. “As you said, it is unrelated to Ebola. However, we do look for anthracis in soil in all of our infected areas.”

“Really?”

“I said anthracis is an old disease in Africa, right? The country that suffers the most is Congo. It’s because most of Congo is a jungle.”

“Jungle?”

“Yes. And the soil in the jungle area is perfect for anthracis to grow. So, it’s become habitual for us to test the soil for anthrax whenever we go anywhere. Testing for Ebola was kind of like a negative control.”

A negative control was a sample used to verify that there was nothing wrong with the experiment; it was always negative. An example of a negative control was testing for Ebola virus genes in soil where it could not survive. If there was a positive reaction, one would assume there was a problem and redo the experiment. But if it was positive over and over again, panic set in, just like Michelle.

“Thankfully, anthracis hasn’t caused huge damage to people yet. It just destroyed a lot of gorillas,” Michelle said. “Human capturing is the biggest reason why gorillas in Africa are at risk of extinction, but anthrax is probably a close second. I used to get a lot of reports like that when I worked at the World Health Organization.”

“...”

Michelle sighed. Young-Joon knew what her sigh meant.

“What’s the infection route of Ebola?” Young-Joon asked.

“It’s transmitted from animal to animal through organisms like vampire bats, then to humans. It’s carried in bodily fluids like blood.”

“What do you think is the relationship between Ebola and anthrax, Doctor Michelle?”

“It’s probably one of two things,” Michelle replied in a depressed voice.

“That’s right. One possibility is that Ebola has evolved and multiplied with anthracis as a host, and the second is that anthracis consumed Ebola and absorbed the genes into its own.”

“...”

“If it’s the former, Ebola could be detected in soil and infect people. If it’s the latter, the Ebola gene will be active in people who have anthrax and show Ebola symptoms,” Young-Joon said. “If it was the latter, Doctor Michelle, it would have been an anthrax infection and had the properties of anthracis. Did they have any signs of anthrax?”

“No, but we can’t say for sure. We didn’t have many patients.”

“But it makes it more likely.”

—The former is right.

“I lived my entire life chasing trends, but I can barely keep up with it now. A new technology is discovered every day,” Yoon Dae-Sung said.

“It’s already been thirty years since we were able to absorb new knowledge and information like sponges. Our brains aren’t that creative anymore, Nicholas said. “But Dae-Sung, how much of a relief is it that we have a trendsetter at our company?”

“Doctor Ryu?”

“Yeah. Doctor Ryu has already made two new trends.”

“...”

The first trend was stem cells, and the second was Cas9, which were gene scissors. They were both base technologies that had incredible potential. The list of things that had come from stem cells was just mind-boggling: cures for glaucoma and Alzheimer’s, and several organoids and artificial organs.

On top of that, Cas9 had successfully carried out a sophisticated genetic manipulation that cured HIV. It also became a key component of the diagnostic kits that made up the bulk of A-Bio’s revenue. Now, it also had the potential to end all cancers with the introduction of a new technology called dendritic cell bypass. This technology was only going to get bigger. It was clear that the concept of genetic surgery was going to reshape medicine for decades.

“I’m thinking of leaving A-Gen in his hands,” Yoon Dae-Sung said.

Nicholas was shocked.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Yoon Dae-Sung solemnly nodded.

“And I’m going to turn myself in for the development of anthrax as a bioweapon and step down.” “... What about Bo-Hyun?” Nicholas asked. “DId you talk to him about this?”

“He doesn’t know yet.”

Yoon Dae-Sung shook his head.

“He probably thinks he is going to inherit the company,” Nicholas said.

“I’ll have to talk to him.”

“When are you going to turn yourself in?”

“... There’s only a few months left until the share exchange I promised Doctor Ryu. I’m going to clean up my mess as much as I can and then turn myself in.”

“...”

“It’ll be best to merge A-Gen and A-Bio and have Doctor Ryu as the sole CEO. I’m also going to transfer my shares to him,” Yoon Dae-Sung said.

“You made a big decision.”

“Please take care of Bo-Hyun when I leave.”

“... Okay.”

Yoon Dae-Sung finished his beer.

“The beer here is really good,” he said as he shook the glass. “It’s gentle.”

* * *

In Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Disaster Response Committee was convened to take care of the Ebola epidemic. The head was Michelle, and it was composed of the best scientists and doctors in Congo. All of them were deeply concerned about Ebola infecting anthracis. There was a high possibility that this was going to become an unprecedented biological disaster. How could the Congolese government stop this? There were already people who had basically given up even before the fight.

However, they had hope when they saw a man in the conference room. Young-Joon had appeared with a bunch of documents in his hand.

“This is a genome map of the Ebola virus,” Young-Joon said. “Let’s begin.”