by Bobby Akart
Virus Hunters
A Medical Thriller | Part Three
Bobby Akart
Introduction
Thank you for downloading VIRUS HUNTERS: Part three of the Virus Hunters trilogy by Author Bobby Akart.
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Copyright Information
© 2020 Crown Publishers Inc. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Crown Publishers Inc.
Formatted by Drew Avera
Praise for Bobby Akart
PRAISE FOR AUTHOR BOBBY AKART and THE VIRUS HUNTERS
“Only Akart can weave a story that begins so calm, so normal and before you know it, you are at the end of the book with your pulse pounding in your chest and your mind screaming for more! ~ Amazon Hall of Fame, Top 2 Reviewer
“Under MY version of Wikipedia, under ‘Insomnia – Causation’, is a picture of Bobby Akart. I have learned not to pick up one of his books near bedtime as I will be unable to set it aside for hours!”
“Akart is a master of suspense, keeping us on the edge of our seats. But, he does it with fact-based fiction that would scare even the most hardened readers.”
“Mixing science and suspense is something Bobby Akart is a master of—writing character driven stories that will have you on the edge of your seat.”
“I have highly enjoyed Mr. Akart’s literary works because his research is comprehensive and he has an eerie prescience of writing fiction and it becoming reality.”
“Mr. Akart has become one of my favorite authors joining the ranks of fellas named King, Grisham & Clancy.”
“Bobby Akart is one of those very rare authors who makes things so visceral, so real, that you experience what he writes … His research, depth of knowledge, and genuine understanding of people make his works more real than any movie.”
“No one, and I mean NO ONE, does it better!”
About the Author, Bobby Akart
Author Bobby Akart has been ranked by Amazon as #25 on the Amazon Charts list of most popular, bestselling authors. He has achieved recognition as the #1 bestselling Horror Author, #1 bestselling Science Fiction Author, #5 bestselling Action & Adventure Author, #7 bestselling Historical Author and #10 bestselling Thriller Author.
He has sold over one million books in all formats, which includes over forty international bestsellers, in nearly fifty fiction and nonfiction genres.
His novel Yellowstone: Hellfire reached the Top 25 on the Amazon bestsellers list and earned him multiple Kindle All-Star awards for most pages read in a month and most pages read as an author. The Yellowstone series vaulted him to the #25 bestselling author on Amazon Charts, and the #1 bestselling science fiction author.
Bobby has provided his readers a diverse range of topics that are both informative and entertaining. His attention to detail and impeccable research has allowed him to capture the imagination of his readers through his fictional works and bring them valuable knowledge through his nonfiction books.
SIGN UP for Bobby Akart’s mailing list to receive a copy of his monthly newsletter, The Epigraph, learn of special offers, view bonus content, and be the first to receive news about new releases in the Virus Hunters series. Visit www.BobbyAkart.com for details.
Other Works by Amazon Top 25 Author Bobby Akart
Odessa (a Gunner Fox Trilogy)
Odessa Reborn
Odessa Rising
Odessa Strikes
The Virus Hunters
Virus Hunters I
Virus Hunters II
Virus Hunters III
The Geostorm Series
The Shift
The Pulse
The Collapse
The Flood
The Tempest
The Cataclysm
The Pioneers
The Asteroid Series
Discovery
Diversion
Destruction
The Doomsday Series
Apocalypse
Haven
Anarchy
Minutemen
Civil War
The Yellowstone Series
Hellfire
Inferno
Fallout
Survival
The Lone Star Series
Axis of Evil
Beyond Borders
Lines in the Sand
Texas Strong
Fifth Column
Suicide Six
The Pandemic Series
Beginnings
The Innocents
Level 6
Quietus
The Blackout Series
36 Hours
Zero Hour
Turning Point
Shiloh Ranch
Hornet’s Nest
Devil’s Homecoming
The Boston Brahmin Series
The Loyal Nine
Cyber Attack
Martial Law
False Flag
The Mechanics
Choose Freedom
Patriot’s Farewell (standalone novel)
Black Friday (standalone novel)
Seeds of Liberty (Companion Guide)
The Prepping for Tomorrow Series
Cyber Warfare
EMP: Electromagnetic Pulse
Economic Collapse
Acknowledgments
Creating a novel that is both informative and entertaining requires a tremendous team effort. Writing is the easy part.
For their efforts in making the Virus Hunters a reality, I would like to thank Hristo Argirov Kovatliev for his incredible artistic talents in creating my cover art. He and Dani collaborate (and conspire) to create the most incredible cover art in the business. A huge hug of appreciation goes out to Pauline Nolet, the Professor, for her editorial prowess and patience in correcting the same writer’s tics after forty-plus novels. We have a new member of the team, Drew Avera, who has brought his talented formatting skills from a writer’s perspective, creating multiple formats for reading my novels. I was pleased to introduce Stacey Glemboski, another new member of our team of professionals, for her memorable performance in narrating the Virus Hunters. I may have written the dialogue, but Stacey has created the voice of Dr. Harper Randolph.
A special thank you goes out to Christie Garness, a long-time reader, who provided valuable insight into the current state of affairs in Las Vegas as well as its emergency operations. Lastly, there’s the Team—Denise, Joe, Jim, Shirley, and Aunt Sissy, whose advice, friendship and attention to detail is priceless.
I’d like to thank our neighbor, Pam, for saying a catchy phrase attributed to her sister—just land the damn plane already. It cracked me up when I first heard it. It’s an alternative way of saying wind it up or get to the point. I thought it fit Harper’s personality perfectly. Thank you, Pam and Tim, for your friendship and Pam’s sister for allowing me to put this line to good use.
Characters come and go, but lifelong friendships do not. Everybody needs that set of friends. You know, the ones that you can call on in a time of emergency, that without a doubt, will be there for you. We have Mark and Kathie Becker. The story of how we met can only be attributed to fate. In early 2017, I posted a photo of my vintage Land Rover, affectionately known as Red Rover, in The Epigraph. I received an email shortly thereafter from a reader that r
ecognized Red Rover as belonging to his new neighbors. We may no longer be neighbors, but we will forever be friends with Mark and Kathie Becker. As you come to love the character of Dr. Elizabeth Becker, eighty-eight percent of what you read in the novels, is the real Kathie. Another eleven percent is Lizzie, a mix between Kathie and her three-year-old niece. And one percent is Boom-Boom Becker. I hope you love the character as much as we love the genuine article.
Now, for the serious stuff. The Virus Hunters series required countless hours of never-ending research. Without the background material and direction from those individuals who provided me a portal into their observations and data, I would’ve been drowning in long Latin words.
Once again, as I immersed myself in the science, source material and research flooded my inbox from scientists, epidemiologists, and geneticists from around the globe. I am so very thankful to everyone who not only took the time to discuss this material with me, but also gave me suggestions for future novels. Without their efforts, this story could not be told. Please allow me to acknowledge a few of those individuals whom, without their tireless efforts, the Virus Hunters series could not have been written.
Many thanks to Laura Edison, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Public Health Service, a Career Epidemiology Field Officer, or CEFO, at the CDC in Atlanta. She has stressed the importance of tracking the vast number of travelers during an outbreak. Her creation of an electronic surveillance system called the Ebola Active Monitoring System helped the Georgia Department of Health keep tabs on travelers arriving at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport during that outbreak.
Colonel Mark G. Kortepeter, MD, has held multiple leadership roles in the Operational Medicine Division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, USAMRIID, the nation’s largest containment laboratory dedicated to biological weapons. His expertise in all related fields of infectious disease study from the battlefield to the BSL-4 and to the coroner’s office was invaluable.
Eric Pevzner, PhD, MPH, a Captain in the USPHS, who is the Branch Chief of the Epidemiology Workforce Branch and Chief of the EIS program at the CDC Atlanta. Years ago, when I was first introduced to Captain Pevzner, he reiterated that the next pandemic was only a plane ride away. Of course, as we know, he was right. In his capacity as the head of the Epidemiology Workforce Branch, he oversees the Epidemic Intelligence Service, Laboratory Leadership Service, Epidemiology Elective Program, and Science Ambassador Fellowship. He works tireless hours to ensure those within our charge have the tools and knowledge necessary to protect us from infectious disease outbreaks.
The Virus Hunters novels could not have been written without the support of the former director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Steven Walker; Janet Waldorf, Deputy Chief of Communications within the DARPA Public Affairs office, and her staff; and the DARPA program managers and contractors who took the time to speak with me by phone or via email.
Finally, as always, a special thank you to the disease detectives, the shoe-leather epidemiologists of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, who work tirelessly to keep these deadly infectious diseases from killing us all. They are selfless, brave warriors, risking their lives and the loss of their families in order to fight an unseen enemy more powerful than any bomb.
This is why I wrote the Virus Hunters.
Because you never know when the day before is the day before, prepare for tomorrow.
Thank you all!
Foreword by Dr. Harper Randolph
Spring 2020 - The year we discovered the SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 global pandemic.
In the story of humanity, communicable diseases play a starring role. From the bubonic plague to cholera to HIV, we have been locked in a struggle for supremacy with deadly maladies for millennia. They attack our bodies with impunity and without prejudice. They’re a merciless enemy, just one-billionth our size, and they’ve existed on Earth longer than man.
In 2020, we were a world under siege. In America, with the whole of the nation in the midst of a declared national state of emergency, most communities were ordered to abide by a mandated lockdown. Infections totaled over a million and deaths were recorded in the tens of thousands. The efforts to protect public health from this novel coronavirus was a striking example of this continuing war. As governments and health authorities battled to stop the spread of the new virus, they considered lessons from history.
As epidemiologists, we strive to understand the exact effects and nature of any strain of virus, a relative of the common cold. Our greatest concern is accepting that this information can remain unknown for months as scientists gather evidence as to its origin, spread, and immunology.
Experts are concerned about the speed at which the disease can mutate. Oftentimes, its presumed that animals may have been the original source—as was the case with severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, another virus in the same family as coronavirus—reflecting the proximity that millions in China share with livestock and wild animals.
Once an outbreak occurs and is identified, governments must grapple with a response. Today’s strategy of containment—one of the key measures deployed against endemic diseases—would be familiar to civil authorities and medical personnel as far back as the ancient world. The concept of a quarantine has its roots in the Venetian Republic’s fourteenth-century efforts to keep out the plague by blocking boat travel.
But the maritime power would have been hard-pressed to institute a cordon sanitaire on a scale required in China, where many of these infectious diseases originate. Using the early outbreak of COVID-19 by way of example, the ability to lock down the presumed place of origin, Wuhan, a city equal in size and population to the entirety of Los Angeles County, was a reflection of the power of China’s Communist-authoritarian rule. To stop the spread of the disease, every citizen of Wuhan was ordered to stay in their homes. No exceptions for essentials. No excuses to visit a friend. No walks in the park. No mowing of grass. It was a severe measure, strictly enforced.
In 2020, mistrust and politics played a role as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has always been dedicated to identifying, containing, and eradicating diseases of all types. Too often, however, the CDC had become a political football, but not one handed off or passed from one side of the aisle to the other. Rather, the CDC was often punted, kicked, and fumbled as a result of never-ending budget battles or desires to use the agency’s efforts to exploit its findings for political gain.
Misinformation and disinformation are also still prevalent, as they have been in the past. During the outbreak of Spanish flu in 1918–19, conspiracy theories of enemy bioweapons circulated. During an 1853 outbreak of yellow fever in New Orleans, immigrants were to blame. On social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, wild claims were circulating that the coronavirus was exacerbated by 5G cell phone towers. Fear and mistrust may be one of the greatest challenges we face in eliminating infectious diseases.
Technological changes have proved to be a double-edged sword. Modern diagnostic techniques have sped up identification, while data science has made it easier to track the spread of a contagion. But some advances, such as improved modes of transportation, have contributed to the rapid proliferation of infectious diseases around the globe.
Even global health cooperation has been less than straightforward. The conversation has far improved from 1851 when European nations sought to standardize maritime quarantines. Yet the World Health Organization, despite its message of worldwide solidarity and cooperation, continues to exclude Taiwan from key meetings and information sharing, under Chinese pressure. China, one of the most secretive nations on Earth, continues to closely guard information and delay announcements concerning outbreaks for economic and geopolitical reasons. Both of these examples are the kinds of unnecessary risks that create windows of opportunity for infectious diseases to proliferate. Frankly, pandemics and politics do not mix well.
Ho
wever, perspective is needed. SARS, a disease that spread worldwide within a few months in 2002, gripped the nation’s headlines, but killed fewer than 800. The perennial scourge of influenza concerns most pandemic watchers. An estimated fifty to one hundred million died from the Spanish flu during a time when commercial air, rail, and auto travel didn’t exist. Even with modern medicine, the CDC estimates an average of 34,000 Americans die from influenza each flu season.
Outbreaks of unidentified diseases demand our vigilance and study. Novelty does not necessarily make them inherently more dangerous than older foes, only more difficult to establish testing, treatment, and vaccination protocols.
I will leave you with this. Deadly outbreaks of infectious diseases make headlines, but not at the start. Every pandemic begins small, subtle, and in faraway places. When it arrives, it spreads across oceans and continents, like the sweep of nightfall, killing millions, or possibly billions.
Know this. Throughout the millennia, extinction has been the norm, and survival, the exception. This is why the Virus Hunters, the disease detectives on the front lines, work tirelessly to keep these deadly infectious diseases from killing us all.
I am Dr. Harper Randolph and this is our story.