A Cure? Not So Fast.

Hello fellow spacefarers! It’s Gabby Newsome with the news you can use.

Well folks, today I have an update for you on the Janis Variant A-2 virus.

It appears that G-CDC has selected well known virologist and epidemologist Dr. Giles Robinson to work on the cure for this disease.

Dr. Robinson has agreed to a brief interview from an unknown location.

GN: Dr. Robinson, what news do you have for our listeners today?

GR: Unfortunately, not very much, I’m afraid. This virus is a real puzzler.

GN: A puzzler? What do you mean?

GR: Well it seems the virus rapidly bonds and adapts to the host. As it does so it’s very genetic make-up changes. 

GN: So, what does that mean for our Captains?

GR: Well, as you know a typical virus, once you know the strain, can be combated with the appropriate antiviral, usually in the form of an injection. Since this virus tailors itself to the host a general single purpose antiviral just won’t work. 

GN: So that means a cure is a long way off?

GR: No, not really. I just need to sequence the parent virus for about 75% of the cure. For the remaining 25% each Captain will have to be examined, the particular strain identified and then the treatment created.

GN: Well that’s good news Doctor. What do our Captains do in the meantime?

GR: Just live their lives. While the rash is uncomfortable and may cause some scarring if scratched too frequently it doesn’t oppose any major health risks. Drink plenty of fluids, umm, non-alcoholic I might add, get plenty of rest and treat the fever. By the way, the early reported deaths were misidentified as caused by the virus, but that isn’t true. There were multiple underlying conditions that were not identified originally.

GN: That’s good to hear! So, you are saying no quarantine?

GR: That’s correct. The virus, because it mutates rapidly to match its host, can’t be passed to anyone else. You need to be exposed to the source, which comes from the ribblez.

GN: Thank you for your time Doctor. I’ll let you get back to your important work.

GR: Thank you for the opportunity to address this issue.

So there you have it folks, a cure is on the way! This is Gabby Newsome signing off.