Warmack dropped his notes on the table in front of him and pulled his glasses off his nose, using them to point at the reporters. “I want to emphasize that this organism is contagious only via direct contact spread. In other words, careful hand washing along with a simple mask and gown will suffice in preventing person-to-person spread. We are screening all contacts and hospital patients. We believe that we have successfully minimized the risk of any further spread within the hospitals and beyond.”

Reporters shouted questions from every direction, but Warmack closed his eyes and shook his head until the noise died down. “I won’t field any questions until Dr. Lopez from the CDC has had a chance to read her statement.” He looked over to her with an encouraging nod and a concealed wink.

Lopez swallowed, trying to dislodge her heart from her throat. She leaned closer to her own microphone. “I’m Dr. Lina Lopez, the regional Epidemiological Intelligence Service officer with the Centers For Disease Control.” She glanced down at her cue cards. “The new superbug Dr. Warmack described is similar to what we have seen with methicillin-resistant Staph Aureus, or MRSA, and Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus, or, VRE.” Realizing that her technical language might be over the heads of some members of the audience, Lopez decided it was too late to change her approach. “Bacteria commonly undergo spontaneous mutations and become resistant to certain antibiotics. The difference in the case of MRGAS is in the extent of resistance seen. As Dr. Warmack said, no antibiotic tested thus far has been successful in treating this infection.”

The last statement led to another spontaneous eruption in the room.

“Please, please,” Lopez waved for the crowd to quiet, feeling her confidence build with each turn of the cue cards. “This is not the first bacterium to be resistant to all antibiotics. For example, since the late 1990s we have seen multiresistant tuberculosis develop in the inner-city areas of New York and San Francisco. In fact, up until the early 1930s—the so-called preantibiotic era—there was no specific therapy for any bacterial infection. Yet most people survived such infections.

“However, the CDC and the World Health Organization have identified this pathogen as a level-one public-health priority. We are working together to respond to the outbreak in Seattle and the simultaneous emergence in Vancouver, Canada. A joint task force of local experts—in public health, epidemiology, and infectious diseases—has been assembled to coordinate the Seattle response with the CDC and WHO.”

She glanced over to Warmack, who nodded to her once. Then she turned back to the reporters and cameramen. “We will try to answer some of your questions now, but please bear in mind that we have only known about the pathogen for less than forty-eight hours.”