Chapter 993: Still in Hawaii (3)

There is no way. Some things cannot be figured out in detail. The only host of the smallpox virus is humans. Other mammals such as cows and monkeys can also be infected with viruses similar to smallpox, but the types are actually different.

The WHO's announcement of the eradication of smallpox was not a casual one. Although there was a lot of politics and bureaucratic wrangling involved, the statistical method was relatively scientific and rational.

In the more than half a century that followed, WHO continued to closely monitor all major infectious diseases around the world and confirmed that there were no new cases of smallpox infection.

This is beyond doubt. Smallpox is different from infectious diseases such as malaria. Its signs of infection are very obvious, and so are its sequelae.

Even if someone was lucky enough to survive a small-scale smallpox outbreak, the horrible pockmarks left on their face after recovery could not be removed.

So the question is, why did the smallpox virus, which had disappeared from human society for more than half a century, suddenly appear in Hawaii? "Human" factors seem to be the most likely possibility.

Compared to the high level of nervousness of other people, relatively "professional" people like Jack and Max are much calmer.

The most important reason why smallpox can be "easily" eradicated by humans is that the composition of the virus itself is too stable and it is difficult to mutate, thus escaping the effective control of the vaccine.

Even if someone "improved" the smallpox virus and released it as a biological weapon in Hawaii, injecting it into the human body alone in the hope of infecting it is an extremely inefficient method.

Contaminating water and food, releasing atomized gas in central air conditioning ducts, and as someone who has extensive experience dealing with hemorrhagic fever, anthrax, and pufferfish toxin,

Jack could design dozens of different ways of communication just by thinking about it, and he didn't have to worry about attracting official attention in advance.

Moreover, according to the preliminary test results of the CDC, no signs of "modification" were found in the virus, which means that the pathogen extracted from Brian Palmer's body was "original."

The "original" smallpox virus is easier to deal with. Although smallpox has long been extinct, the smallpox vaccine has never been discontinued. For some unspeakable reasons, the Americans have been injecting various vaccines, including smallpox, into soldiers in the military.

This means that even if the situation develops to the worst extent, the authorities will not use overly violent means to eliminate the virus as in some film and television works, such as dropping some weapons of mass destruction on the island and then claiming it was a large-scale wildfire afterwards.

Even if the virus really spreads on the island, the CDC can quickly mobilize a large amount of reserve vaccines and give everyone on the island a shot to control the situation.

Soon, the CDC came up with another piece of reassuring news. After comparing the data they urgently obtained from various hospitals on the island, they confirmed that there had been no abnormal group fever symptoms recently, and the other party stated that they would continue to monitor the situation.

"That means we still have time and we don't have to worry about our family's safety for the time being." Jack gave everyone a reassurance.

Having said that, it is still an urgent matter to find out the source of the virus as soon as possible. Danny quickly arranged the tasks for everyone.

As a forensic doctor, Max has sent the blood and tissue samples collected from the body to the military's P4-level biological laboratory, and he will soon go to the laboratory to conduct pathological tests on them.

His first priority was to confirm whether there were any other drug residues in the body of the deceased. After all, the needle hole might have been left by the injection of a virus, but it could also have been caused by the injection of a poison.

Cheng Hao went to HPD to coordinate police forces and cooperate with the CDC to conduct a dragnet investigation to find possible potential infected people.

In Jack's previous life, Hawaii was the only state among the 50 states in the United States that did not have a state police organization. In this world, although "Five-O" is called the state police, it is essentially still a task force specially appointed by the governor.

Whether they are the prototype of the future Hawaii State Police, or a special organization similar to the Texas Rangers, in their actual tasks, they, like the FBI, cannot do without the support of local police departments.

Kono stayed in the base to be in charge of the central liaison and centrally process the information reported by all parties. Finally, it was Danny and Jack's turn. The two got in the Camaro and headed straight for the Hawaii Medical Center.

This largest hospital in Hawaii, located on the island of Oahu, consists of a 7-story main building and two slightly smaller annex buildings.

The wife of the deceased Brian Palmer and her two children, aged 3 and 5, are currently being isolated in a separate ward of more than square meters in the medical center.

The young brother and sister obviously had no idea what was going on. They were playing with toys obediently on the small table in the ward. Brian Palmer's wife looked to be in her early 30s. When she saw the two men coming, she burst into tears.

The isolation ward was equipped with a direct intercom similar to those used in prison visiting rooms. Danny tried to keep his voice as low as possible and explained their purpose in a voice that would not alarm the two children.

Brian Palmer's wife tried to control her emotions and told the two what happened tonight.

“The doctors thought we were not infected, but to be safe, they wanted me and the children to stay in the hospital for at least a week.

My children and I were certainly shocked, but we didn't expect Brian to be so seriously ill. He probably just wanted to ask me for help, but I blocked him out."

Danny put his hands on his chest and comforted him in a very serious tone, “Ms. Palmer, listen to me, you made a 100% correct choice, understand?

Because you did not open the door, you saved yourself and your two children from infection."

After a lot of consolation, the woman stopped crying, and Danny quickly asked the question, "Ma'am, we hope you can help the police figure out Brian's whereabouts over the past few weeks."

“Uh,” the woman looked conflicted, “I guess there’s nothing I can do about it.”

She looked back at her two children before continuing, "We were separated before, and Brian moved out about three months ago.

After returning from Iraq, he suffered from PTSD, which caused a lot of conflicts between us. Later, in order not to affect our two children, he took the initiative to move out of our house temporarily. "

It sounded like a familiar story again, so Danny and Jack looked at each other and then asked, "Okay, so where has he been living since he separated from you?"

"The Wave Hotel." The woman's expression was very sad, and it was obvious that she still had deep feelings for her husband.

"He was actually doing pretty well during this time. He tried to stop drinking, came back to visit the kids regularly, and even started planning to find a job. I thought we would be able to return to our old life soon."

Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, Danny took the initiative to help her say "but", "So, what happened next?"

The woman looked a little confused. "I don't know. About two weeks ago, he suddenly disappeared. He missed the couples counseling session with the family counselor and turned off his phone. I thought he had retreated back to the dark corner he once was."

"What do you mean? What do you mean by dark corner?" Danny was confused.