The Malthus Pandemic
Page 53
CHAPTER 51
On the other side of Africa, Larry Brown was still feeling as angry with the system as he had been in London. He was equally angry that no-one, even Joseph, had noticed he had disappeared for three days. There was nothing from the Ambassador when he returned - not even a message to call the Embassy in Abuja. Larry decided to give him one more day. After that - well - the Ambassador might be the boss but Larry was none too enamoured with his job anyway.
But on the plane back from London, he had been reading the English Sunday Times - a thick newspaper with magazines and separate supplements - and there had been ample time to read it from front to back. What had caught his eye was an article in the "Travel" section on holidays in Thailand and a very short sentence pointing out that there had recently been a flu-type scare and tourists were warned to be careful. What they should do not to catch the bug was not made clear but if the British Foreign Office was issuing warnings then perhaps it would be a starting point to circumvent what he, as a persona non grata, was not able to get direct from the WHO.
Larry phoned the British Foreign Office in London and was told to check their website. He did so but got no further - just a repeat of the Sunday Times warning. So he phoned the British Embassy in Bangkok with a story.
"My name is Larry Brown. I'm a US citizen but my English girlfriend is on holiday in Thailand and I've not been able to contact her for several days. The last time I spoke to her she was in a place called Sukothai. She had a very bad cold and was running a very high temperature. I've just read about the recent flu outbreak and was worried."
"What is your girlfriend's name Mr Brown?"
"Emily Sinclair," said Larry," In fact I am a doctor, so it's Doctor Brown."
"I see, Doctor Brown. Hold the line while I check."
Larry held on for less than a minute.
"Doctor Brown. Sorry to keep you waiting. There are two pieces of advice. Firstly we suggest you talk to the American Embassy. The US Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences - AFRIMS - is based at the Embassy. They are apparently surveying influenza A outbreaks with a Thai laboratory. You need to speak to them.
Secondly speak direct to the Thai laboratory."
Larry was given the phone number of a laboratory in Bangkok who had been keeping a record of recent incidents of respiratory infection sent in from all across Thailand. The fictitious Emily Sinclair was not on the list. But half an hour later Larry knew where the outbreak had started, that all the known deaths except one were males and that they had all come from the city of Ayuttaya north of Bangkok. By saying he was an American doctor doors seemed to open everywhere. He was then put through to the doctor in charge, a Doctor Vichai.
"But my girlfriend, Emily was in Ayuttaya a month ago," Larry said, "Could she have been in contact with someone with the infection?"
The Thai doctor spoke good English. "All the patients were truck drivers," he said. "They all slept in the same building in Bangkok when making deliveries. We think this was where they contracted the infection."
"So was one of them a carrying the virus?"
"I cannot say for certain, Doctor Brown but my laboratory is concerned about something that was found outside the building where they were sleeping."
"What did you find?"
"Inhalers, Doctor Brown. Similar to those used by asthmatics. But the pressurised canisters were missing. It is very strange."
"Are you suggesting they were infected through using an inhaler? "
"I can not speculate, Doctor Brown but we have had cases of people taking drugs in various strange ways. But the fact is that amongst the hundred or so cases of respiratory infection we have tested since the outbreak we have found no more trace of that particular virus. It's good news but we cannot explain it. Something happened but we don't know what. We have, of course reported it to the WHO as a matter of course but have heard nothing."
For Larry this was enough. Aerosols, he decided, were being tested as a method of spreading the virus - and very effectively too it seemed.
He then further checked out the US Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences - AFRIMS as the girl at the British Embassy had called it. Larry had no idea it existed but, according to its website, it developed and evaluated products and collected epidemiologic data to protect soldiers and citizens from infectious diseases. It did clinical trials, had equipment for sample collections and worked with the Thai laboratory.
Larry phoned Colin in London.
Colin then emailed Daniel in Cairo and Daniel recognised the name of Doctor Vichai from the Bangkok conference. He also remembered seeing the Thai laboratory at the trade show at the conference. He had picked up a leaflet that was probably still in his black case. When he had a moment he'd check out its website.
But for Daniel it posed another obvious question. Someone was, or had been, operating in Thailand. But who? As far as he knew neither Shah Medicals, Livingstone or Al Zafar had a company in Thailand. So was this an individual? One of the scientists, a technician perhaps But the question was not going to be answered from where he was, in Cairo.