Extinction Level Event (6 page)

Trip stood and extended his hand to his acquaintance.
“Zahir!. I haven’t seen you in a while. How are things in Dhaka?
They treating you well?” Grasping his hand and shaking it warmly,
Zahir quickly replied. “Trip. Good to see you. The question is, how
have you been treating me?” The two men laugh quickly at the joke.
Trip sits back down in his executive chair and motions for Zahir to
sit as well. Zahir sits down, starting his commentary, “Trip. As
much as it is good to see you again, of course I’m not here for
that alone”. A brief smile wavers across the shorter man’s face. “I
need to talk to you administrators about the Bangladesh project in
person. The funding for what we’re trying to accomplish simply
isn’t there. And you know it.” Zahir pauses for a moment, letting
the sharp comment sink in. “We have a rapidly increasing
population, soon to be far too large for that land area. Coupled
with the corruption in the local government agencies, and the lack
of new technological breakthroughs. . . . food security is rather
flimsy at best. And impossible at the worst, when it comes to
that”. Mohammed leaned back in his chair, hands raised in gestures
trying to help convey his message to Trip. “Every year the
proportion of people that are under-nourished decreases, but the
absolute number remains the same. It goes down from 26% to 25% to
24%, yet the number seems to always hover at forty million. Forty
million!! And in addition, over 40% of the country lives in
poverty. Do you think my $12 million budget is adequate to deal
with this?? Hardly, my friend.” With that, Zahir paused and looked
directly into Trip’s eyes. “Do you think the Conference will
approve an increase? If only maybe another three, four million? We
need the money.”

This was a difficult dilemma. Trip knew that what
Zahir was saying was legitimate. But unfortunately, he couldn’t
make exceptions simply because Zahir knew him personally. There
were many programs throughout FAO that were significantly
under-funded, or that had suffered cuts in the last two years.
Do you think my financial supply is limitless Zahir? Sorry to
disappoint, but it's not. I would give you if I could.
Zahir, thought had to know better than that. He should know this
already. Or maybe he’s here for something else?
Trip eyed the
smaller man closely as he spoke. “Zahir, you know that I don’t have
the authority to do that. You’ll have to talk to the
Director-General. He has more sway with the Conference and the
Budget Committee than I do”. Trip paused. “We are all hoping that
someone finally sees the light this year and the G8 and G20 can
open their coffers a little more. Unfortunately, again due to
recent economic times, I don’t see them digging too deeply into
their pocketbooks. What I can do, is I can make a note of it in my
report to the conference and let them have a look at it. Send me a
letter that I can attach to my report that I will present to the
Conference, and I will assure you it will be given
more
weight”. Trip finished the last word heavily, silently telling
Zahir that this would be a favor. A large push from the Deputy
Director, but one that Trip realized would be necessary for the
organization.
A good push every here and now can topple a whole
pyramid of blocks. Then we can rebuild things from scratch.

Zahir took a moment to think the proposal through in
his head. “I should still speak to the Director-General”, he said
after a second’s pause. “Perhaps. But you know that he may not be
as willing to take this as seriously as I do. You know this as much
as I do.” “Yes, but such things are always worth a try. Surely he
will at least remember the details I tell him.” “Hmm. You should
try. That’s for sure”. Zahir stood, ready to leave. “It's been a
pleasure seeing you again Zahir”, said Trip, only semi-formally.
“The pleasure has been mine, Trip”. After another exchange of
handshakes, Zahir turned and left the office. Trip escorted him to
the door, opened it, and after Zahir had left returned to his
desk.

Picking up his phone, Trip dials his secretary.
Perreira answered immediately, “Yes, sir?” “Hey, Maria, what’s my
schedule look like today? Anything out of the ordinary?” “Well,
sir, you have an appointment with the East Asia Fisheries
Supervisor at 2:00pm, and a meeting with Latin American Food
Security Board at 4:00pm”. “Thanks, Maria”. Hanging up the phone,
Trip decided the best thing to do right now was make the most of
the time.
What was Zahir thinking?
Thoughts about the quick
meeting flashed through Manjak’s head.
I understand that my help
would give him leverage in this situation. Especially with the
Conference of Member States Meeting coming up soon.. He really
cares for his program, and that’s understandable, but. .
.
why would he come now? And not tell me until yesterday?

Discarding the intrusive thoughts out of his head,
Trip shifted focus to his computer screen. He was already quite
aware that the fisheries in East Asia, especially several key
fisheries around the Sea of Japan, the East China sea, and the
South China Sea, had a high degree of fish depopulation due to
excessive fishing. China alone has more than 70% of the world’s
aquaculture and fish farms, since it has already depleted natural
sources of fish. Over-fishing is a heated debate between
Non-governmental organizations, governments, fisheries, and local
fishermen and due to many political deadlocks it is often difficult
to reach compromises on this issue, anywhere in the world. When the
area in question has over one-third of the world’s population, then
the question becomes even more profound and the solution less
tangible.
Such problems. Always getting worse, harder to
compromise
. Every year the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI)
updates its Fishery Resources Monitoring System and its Fishery
Statistical System. These two systems, amongst others, help FAO
improve regional cooperation in improving data and information on
the status and trends of fisheries. The combined system, known as
FIGIS (Fisheries Global Information System) allows the UN to
collect information on a global scale that would help developing
countries build inland fisheries on regional and local scales. A
consensus by the Committee on Fisheries has made the development of
sustainable fisheries in developing countries a major goal of the
FAO Fisheries and Agriculture Department. So far, that goal has
only been accomplished to a limited extent, and many countries are
wondering how much attention FAO is really giving the project.
FAO is giving all the attention we can give. Well, there have
been a few problems here and there. But ultimately, Zahir is right.
It is a question of funding, and whether they are willing to give
it. This will be a major theme at the upcoming Conference of Member
States.

Realizing he was thinking abstractly again, Trip got
back to his computer intent on finishing the remaining reports
before the meeting began.

University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston,
Texas

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a
large health care complex comprising seven hospitals, a medical
library, and three institutes for advanced research located in
Galveston, Florida. The facility includes over 2,400 graduate
students and residents, 1,200 faculty, 11,000 personnel and a $1.5
billion dollar budget. The campus is located approximately fifty
miles, or eighty kilometers, away from the busy hub of downtown
Houston. The campus’s buildings range in artistic décor from drab,
concrete and glass multi-story boxes to the ornate, Romanesque
architecture of the Ashbel Smith Building, also known as “Old Red”.
The building, completed in 1891 and designed by architect Nicholas
Clayton, sits at the center of the UTMB campus. Built out of bright
red bricks, the building is also noted for its Texas granite
columns and sandstone capitals and ornamentation
¹
. The building breathes new
life into the campus, whose other buildings display a small flare
of pueblo style architecture but for the most part are large,
concrete boxes with windows.

Yet, despite the existence of “Old Red” on the campus
UTMB it is not its presence that attracts top medical students from
across the United States, but rather the presence of prestigious
and vital projects such as the Center for Bio-defense and Emerging
Infectious Diseases (CBEID). The Center was created in 2002 with
the merging of the Center of Tropical Diseases and the Center for
bio-defense, with a twofold purpose: first, to reduce the
vulnerability of the U.S. and other nations to the use of
biological weapons; and secondly, to alleviate suffering from
tropical infectious diseases through the combination and
application of field research and education. The Center has
subsequently attracted a large amount of expertise and talent in
the growing fields of bio-defense and emerging infectious disease.
It has put this to good use by working on developing knowledge of
basic biology of viral warfare agents, and pursuing cutting-edge
research in immunology, pathogenesis, vaccine development,
antimicrobial drug development, and diagnostics.

Dr. V.K. Krishnan, M.D., is one of the twelve hundred
faculty who work at the CBEID. A full Professor and member of the
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, this is his fifth job at
a major virology oriented program. Like many of his colleagues,
Krishnan had an interest in helping others since childhood.
Studying hard in order to receive a scholarship from a good
American school, Krishnan managed to be accepted at UCLA and
pursued a B.S. in Biology. From there he transferred to Harvard
Medical School and received his M.D. after six years of residency.
Receiving nearly perfect scores on many of his tests, Krishnan knew
that what he wanted most was to return to his native Mumbai, India
and help set up better hospitals and healthcare programs. An
opportunity arose several months after graduation, when a position
with the World Health Organization opened in Mumbai. Krishnan
decided to travel back to India, where he spent the next decade
working for the WHO. It was during this time that he became
familiar with one of his favorite fields, that of arboviruses.
“Arboviruses” is a name used to describe arthropod-borne viral
diseases, such as West Nile Virus, Equine Encephalitis virus,
Yellow Fever virus, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, and
other similar viruses. Arboviruses specialize in using wild animals
as hosts before “spilling over”; meaning they adapt to use humans
and domestic animals as amplification hosts. Krishnan spent years
developing vaccines and helping spread awareness of diseases such
as Yellow Fever, Malaria, Japanese Encephalitis, and Hepatitis A
& B. Now, after more than thirty years in the field, Krishnan
is a world-renowned expert in immuno-biology, virology, and human
disease. Over the years, he has written numerous journal articles,
two medical books, lectured at his alma mater of Harvard as well as
other universities, and appeared on news channels during disease
outbreaks, talking to reporters and journalists about the progress
of preventative treatments and in general assuring the public that
the outbreak would be contained. After several years through the
WHO ranks, Krishnan eventually decided to expand his base and
joined the faculty at Harvard Medical School. After a year, he
applied and gained US Citizenship while transferring to John
Hopkins Hospital; while equally challenging and stimulating, he
missed his old university. Heading back to Harvard, he became
somewhat of a minor media celebrity, through numerous TV talk
shows, interviews, and televised campus speeches on healthcare and
global pandemics.

V.K. decided that a job with CBEID would be the final
glory moment before a peaceful, private, and well deserved
retirement. After a demanding yet exciting life in the medical
world, he decided that he needed time for himself and his family.
While he did meet his wife at Harvard, and one of his grown kids
was attending the school as well, he did not feel that Harvard, or
any other university for that matter, would play a big role in his
life anymore. CBEID took most of his time that he had left, and
after another two or three years in this job he intended to return
to his summer residence in Mumbai and spend time with his extended
family.

There was another bright side to his fame, intellect,
ability, and good fortune. His lab in the CBEID building was very
large for a laboratory, with two Assistant Professors, and a dozen
medical and microbiology graduate students to work under him. Also,
he was given the title of Associate Director of CBEID and is a part
of the institution’s leadership. The laboratory is equipped with
the latest technologies that a lab would want, including one of the
most advanced microscopes in the world, a Titan 80-300 Cubed. The
instrument, which cost $15 million, has an incredible resolution of
15,000,000x magnification
²
. It
is undoubted to say that the instrument is the costliest in his
laboratory, as well as being the most prized. It is also the most
coveted for use by other agencies and individuals.

Krishnan, now promoted to Director, currently has
several projects running, but the one that has been occupying his
attention for the last several months has been the study of the
H5N2 virus, also known as the “Advanced Avian Flu”. Flu-related
viruses are all named in alphabetical order, categorized by
scientists and medical doctors who name the virus yet do not even
understand the origin or nature of the virus at the time of the
christening. Like the H1N1 virus that caused the “Swine Flu
Epidemic” in 2009, H5H2 is a version of Influenza A that is found
in birds, primarily in poultry such as chickens. However, cases
have been reported of H5N2 in other birds such as ostriches,
flamingoes, and even falcons. H5N2 is less contagious than its more
notorious cousin H5N1 but has the ability to mutate like any virus,
and must therefore be closely monitored. The worst case of H5N2 so
far has been a case in Japan’s Ibaraki Province, where 6 million
birds were killed to prevent the spread of the virus in 2005. Since
then no major problems have risen from H5N2, but Krishnan believes
that it is only a matter of time before another related influenza
outbreak occurs.