Chapter 351

Jiang Miao is preparing for the 2030 Spring Festival.

I had just wished all employees a happy New Year through an internal video when my schedule was disrupted by an unexpected phone call.

Listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, Jiang Miao frowned.

"…Academician Jiang, after studying the relevant data, we found that among those who have been to South America, more than 80% of men suffer from infertility…"

"Have you found out the specific reason?"

"The preliminary investigation results show that an unknown variant of Wolbachia has appeared in these people's bodies. This variant of Wolbachia is not only common in our personnel, but also in the bodies of local men."

When Jiang Miao heard this, a sense of déjà vu seemed to flash through his mind, but he did not immediately express his doubts. He just secretly recalled some of his previous memories to see where he had learned about the relevant content.

On the other end of the phone, the person continued to describe some of the conditions surrounding Wolbachia.

“…Based on the current physical examination data, most men infected with Wolbachia have the highest concentration in their reproductive cells, which manifests as dead sperm symptoms.”

"We initially thought it was just a problem with the expatriates and didn't notice anything unusual. It wasn't until this year when related cases surged in the mainland and the number of newborns in Brazil and other places dropped by almost 80% year-on-year that we realized the seriousness of the problem."

At this time, Jiang Miao finally searched out some relevant content from the corner of his memory.

'Could it be the two biological research institutes of that secret organization in the Amazon rainforest?'

He had a strong premonition that the problem was most likely in the two biological research institutes in the Amazon rainforest, but Jiang Miao did not explain. After all, he was also secretly collecting intelligence through hacking methods, and this method certainly could not be discussed openly.

So he changed the subject: "I already know the general situation. Please send me the detailed information. If possible, it would be best to arrange for a group of patients to come to Hailufeng General Hospital. I need to study it myself."

"No problem, I'll send the information right away, to the same internal email address as ours." The person on the other end of the line paused for a moment, then continued, "As for the patients, I will coordinate as soon as possible and send 100 relevant patients to Hailufeng General Hospital within a week."

"Okay, time is urgent, I won't chat any more."

"Well, Academician Jiang, you go ahead and do your work! I also have to go and arrange other things. If you find anything or there is an emergency, just call me or Jintang directly."

"Bye-Bye!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Miao frowned.

After a while, he stood up and went to the exclusive lounge in his office. This lounge was equipped with a private computer he configured himself. Soon, his ten fingers were dancing on the keyboard. In less than five minutes, he jumped over the domestic firewall and entered the international Internet.

With the help of the Internet, Jiang Miao downloaded all the relevant information about South America in the past three years, and then quickly screened it.

Half an hour later, he looked at the dozen or so hidden secret documents, a trace of solemnity and helplessness on his face:

"The flood destroyed the two secret biological research institutes, causing the various genetically modified Wolbachia cultivated inside to be spread into the Amazon rainforest by experimental mosquitoes..."

"After the organization found out that things were out of control, they did not tell anyone else, but quickly destroyed the relevant information and even silenced some of the insiders..."

'At the same time, they were also studying Wolbachia in other areas. It was not until the beginning of last year that they found that the birth rate in cities around the Amazon rainforest had dropped by nearly 30%. They realized that the spread of genetically modified Wolbachia might be completely out of control...'

'After nearly a year of investigation and research, they found that the transgenic Wolbachia previously created in the laboratory, after spreading in the wild and evolving through competition, mutated into a special mechanism that can directly destroy the male reproductive cells of primates, thus causing necrospermia in male primates...'

'According to the patient data they have collected, the infection rate of this variant of Wolbachia in male primates can reach about 60% to 90%. According to the situation in South America, the infection rate of men in the local core infection area is generally around 82.7%...'

'Because North America and South America are connected by land, the organization has already found a large number of infection cases in Mexico around June last year, and in September mosquitoes carrying mutant Wolbachia entered Texas and Florida...'

'Around July of the same year, a large number of mosquitoes carrying mutant Wolbachia were found in the coastal areas of central Africa...'

Jiang Miao immediately thought of the spread of Wolbachia in previous years, which led to the Asian Union's strict inspection of imported agricultural products. As a result, mosquitoes carrying mutated Wolbachia were blocked from entering in a short period of time, which prevented the problem from being discovered immediately in China.

What's more, the urban areas within the Asian Commonwealth are densely covered with pheromone repellent sprays that genetically target mosquitoes. There are no mosquitoes in the cities, so it is naturally difficult to be infected.

He was also very helpless about the current situation.

Because from what is known so far, the mutated Wolbachia has become a completely new type of primate organelle, similar to the chloroplasts and mitochondria of the past.

The tricky thing about this thing is that it is embedded in human cells. If you want to kill it, it is very likely to endanger life safety.

As for preventing mosquito bites through protective measures or mosquito-killing measures, although it can be achieved within the Asian Union, those working overseas certainly do not have this condition.

Of course, if your work area is in Antarctica, the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, etc., then you don’t need to worry about being bitten by mosquitoes.

Otherwise, it would be really difficult for expatriates working in South America, Africa and other places to avoid mosquito bites. They can't just stay in special bases or wear protective clothing when going out, right?
Although Jiang Miao was worried about the current situation, he was not in a hurry.

Mainly, the mosquitoes within the Asian Commonwealth have not yet been infected with the mutated Wolbachia. Even if the mosquitoes in the country are infected in the future, it will be difficult for mosquitoes to bite people because there are generally mosquito repellent spray systems in towns and cities in the Asian Commonwealth.

As long as you carry a mosquito repellent spray with you when you are outdoors, you can greatly reduce the risk of infection with mutated Wolbachia.

As for the infected people in other areas, they can only hope for the best.

Especially in backward and chaotic areas, due to various reasons, these areas are unlikely to be able to fully prevent mosquito bites.

That afternoon, Jiang Miao had finished reading the relevant information.

More than a dozen relevant biological researchers and medical researchers at the Hailufeng Group headquarters also received relevant notices. At around three o'clock in the afternoon, they put down their work and came to the headquarters for a meeting.

In the meeting room, the assistant distributed relevant information to everyone.

Jiang Miao and Shu Ya were also discussing in a low voice.

Shuya looked at the information and asked solemnly, "Can it be confirmed that it was artificially modified?"

"It is highly likely that the artificially modified Wolbachia leaked into the Amazon rainforest, and then evolved into this species through natural mutation." Jiang Miao rubbed his temple helplessly. Another medical researcher looked very serious: "This thing is too weird. Once infected, unless drugs are used to block it in a short period of time, once it spreads, it will be difficult to kill it in all directions."

“It’s a bit like AIDS.”

"From the situation of the infected, in addition to necrospermia, there are obvious fever symptoms in the early stage of infection. This should be the body's immune system resisting the invasion of mutant Wolbachia."

"That is to say, once the patient has passed the fever period, it may mean that the mutant Wolbachia has successfully invaded the body."

"Damn it! Are those foreign biological researchers crazy? Why are they researching this kind of thing?"

"That's right! He's simply courting death!"

"Although there are still about 16% of men who are immune to this infection, it will almost instantly make about 83% of men lose their fertility. Various fierce conflicts will definitely occur in the local society very soon."

"Alas! There's nothing we can do now!"

A group of researchers sighed. It was not that they could not deal with this mutated Wolbachia, but it was a matter of time.

Even if Seris tried his best, it would probably take about ten years to develop a complete cure.

During this period, the question of whether those who have lost their fertility will go crazy becomes a very real issue.

As for whether the local population will decrease rapidly?
This is an inevitable result in the early stages. Unless those areas allow polygamy and ensure that those who have lost their fertility do not cause trouble, the entrances to these areas will definitely drop sharply in a short period of time.

More than half an hour later, Shuya had finished reading all the information. She frowned and asked, "A Miao, what do you think?"

"How do you watch? I'll sit and watch." Jiang Miao shook his head and joked, "It's obviously very difficult to come up with a drug with high safety and good killing effect in the body in a short period of time. Even if you have money and people, you can't achieve it within a few years."

"Yes!" As a top biologist, Shuya naturally knows this.

If this mutated Wolbachia is so easy to treat, AIDS would not have plagued humans for decades, and there would still be no complete cure. The current direction of human development in the treatment of AIDS is actually a passive choice to coexist with the HIV virus for a long time.

In Shuya's opinion, humans will most likely have to coexist with mutated Wolbachia in the future.

Suddenly Shuya frowned and asked, "By the way, what about women infected with mutant Wolbachia?"

"Although this variant of Wolbachia can infect women, the infection rate is relatively low, only about 5.5%, and after infection, there will be no symptoms such as dead eggs."

Shuya looked at him in surprise: "Why is it not mentioned in the information?"

"This data is the first phase of research data in China. Many local infection cases in South America are not included. Relevant data will be supplemented later." Jiang Miao did not explain that he collected the relevant information through hackers.

Shuya closed the information, took a sip of tea, then looked at him and asked, "I see, so what should we do now?"

"We will set up a laboratory first. Then we will receive a group of infected patients to the main hospital and try to treat them while conducting research!"

"It can only be the."

"Yes! We are not gods. It is almost impossible for us to come up with a treatment plan in a short period of time."

However, a researcher in reproductive medicine raised his glasses and said, "There is actually a way."

"Oh? Researcher Lin, what do you think? Tell us and let's discuss it together." Jiang Miao did not think that he had no solution. Other researchers would also be helpless. After all, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang.

"Then I'll show you my ugly side." Researcher Lin proposed a more alternative solution: "Based on the patient data collected so far, the reason why infected men have necrospermia is that the mutant Wolbachia accumulates in the reproductive system and continuously destroys the chromosome structure of sperm."

The others didn't say anything and continued to listen.

"But the chromosomes in the patient's other cells are normal and have some reproductive function. After all, other cells in the human body can now be used."

"If artificial insemination is possible, then eliminating the mutant Wolbachia in the body becomes irrelevant."

"As long as the patient is able to get over it, it is actually a disguised form of long-term contraception."

"By the way, how mature is the technology for transforming somatic cells into germ cells?"

"The technology is mature enough, but the price is high. After all, it needs a dedicated person to do it. If we use domestic technology and cost, the whole set may cost about 100,000 yuan."

"Hundreds of thousands? This price is acceptable!"

"Let those overseas companies come up with a special aid fund to provide somatic cell differentiation and in vitro fertilization for those infected employees who want to have children, so as to solve the immediate problem first. At least those infected employees will be protected in the future."

Jiang Miao took note of this matter and gave his suggestions to his superiors in the evening.

Although there are tens of thousands of infected people in South America, the proportion of people who really want to have children right away is actually not high.

Moreover, if customized somatic cell transformation and IVF are carried out on a large scale, the cost can be reduced a lot. It is estimated that this special type of IVF can be done for less than RMB 100,000 per person.

Although it is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental cure, it has at least solved the urgent problem.

In fact, this is also beneficial to the development of the medical industry in the Asian Union.

The discussion continued for more than an hour before concluding this internal technical seminar.

After the meeting, Jiang Miao and Shuya went back to the rooftop villa above the headquarters building together.

As they rode in the elevator, the two chatted about some things, including the problems caused by the mutated Wolbachia and the evil spirits behind it. They both felt that they should be more prepared for this kind of problem in the future.

(End of this chapter)

previouscatalognext