|
Post by farangu on Jul 15, 2015 0:44:59 GMT
General rambling thoughts:
I've reached out to America and Germany re: the advances of Russia, since if they keep going, that will certainly upend the balance of power. When I hear back from them, I'll advise everyone. I also asked America if they would back us up in the event of any Argentinean aggression.
Perhaps could be best for Butler to share what we know about the disease before someone else does. Could be nice to have people trust us as a scientific force, which Butler has been doing a fine job cultivating.
Our agent - we need a good use for him. I suspect someone used theirs to steal the Greek bailout fund.
|
|
|
Post by bfl on Jul 15, 2015 1:36:59 GMT
If everyone approves, I will propose publishing a joint article with the USA and Germany regarding the cause of infection, which will hopefully win us a Nobel
I'd be surprised if there weren't at least one or two more countries that have similar knowledge, so I want to move fast to get us established as the world's pre-eminent scientific force.
I'm going to get to work writing it and I'll ask Germany and the US if they want to put their names on it.
Edit: hey, if we publish first, do we get to name the disease? What do we call it?
|
|
|
Post by farangu on Jul 15, 2015 2:05:18 GMT
Morpheus Syndrome
|
|
|
Post by bfl on Jul 15, 2015 2:14:57 GMT
Here's a draft of the article. With your approval, I'll ask if Germany and the USA approve, and then we can publish.
Morpheus Syndrome: A disease resulting from infection with a Class IV single-strand RNA Virus BFL, Virgil_Leads_You, Mr. Fuzzbutt,
Cause of Infection It has recently been noted that a number of individuals in Spain have suffered from a pathogenic disease that results in coma and death. This disease has been named "Morpheus Syndrome", (by Farangu) as the comas the patients fall into resemble the deep sleep granted by the Roman god of the same name. We have identified the cause of Morpheus Syndrome as a Class IV ssRNA virus. We obtained samples from the brain tissue of a deceased patient from a hospital in Madrid. We took extracts from these samples and attempted to culture them on both agar plates and in living cells. The former produced no culture, while the second produced visible plaques, thus confirming the pathogenic agent to be a virus. We sequenced the genome of the isolated virus, definitively determining that it uses single-stranded RNA as genetic material. The virus genome is extremely unique, and bears no major similarity to that of any known virus, including other class IV viruses. As this newly discovered virus has no name, we propose to call it MS Alpha, as it causes Morpheus Syndrome and is the first known virus of its kind.
Disease: We have determined that Morpheus Syndrome takes three stages in humans. The first stage, lasting up to one week, produces no symptoms, although infected individuals are contagious during this time. The second stage, lasting approximately two weeks, produces distinctive symptoms, including a rash and neurological distress (confusion, lethargy, loss of sensation in extremities). The third stage results in severe neurological symptoms, which inevitably end in a coma. At this time, no patient has been known to regain consciousness, although they can be kept alive with life support.
Epidemiology: We also examined patterns of transmission of MS Alpha. We have determined that the virus is highly transmissible between humans, and that it can be spread via physical contact or via the air. This information suggests that the disease can rapidly spread between individuals, even if they are only in close proximity for a short period of time. We have also determined that animals can carry the disease. A complete list of animals that can carry it is not known; we have confirmed presence of the virus in bats, horses, dogs, and monkeys. The ease of transmission between animals and humans is not currently known.
Meaning: As this is a viral infection, antibiotics and other drugs will not be of any use. The only potential treatment is a vaccine, the development of which will likely take a very long time. Because of this, attempts to control the virus are crucial. Once MD Alpha enters a country, it will be difficult to stop. The long period of contagiousness combined with the highly infectious nature of the disease mean that this virus has the potential to spread extremely rapidly and widely. The fact that infected individuals are contagious up to a week before symptoms appear mean that it will be nearly impossible to track the spread of this disease until it is too late to contain it within a given country.
With these factors in mind, we believe that extreme action must be taken to contain the virus. We propose the following: 1. All countries with known cases close their borders. Because MS Alpha can be transmitted by individuals for up to a week before symptoms appear, it is impossible to know whether a traveler is carrying the disease. For this reason, checkpoints for disease scanning will not be effective. The only option is to prevent travel. 2. All infected individuals be quarantined as soon as they appear symptomatic, to prevent the spread of the disease. Although the long nature of the first stage makes this difficult, individuals who came in contact with the infected should be identified and placed under home quarantine, and moved to a hospital as soon as symptoms appear. 3. All governments should make the best effort possible to develop a vaccine for MS Alpha, while keeping in mind that no cure will be coming for some time.
We believe that MS Alpha can be stopped, and that it is not inevitable that Morpheus Syndrome becomes a pandemic. But we also believe that it will require extraordinary effort to do so. MS Alpha is perhaps the most threatening pathogen the world has seen in a century. There is no room for error.
|
|
|
Post by Goose! on Jul 15, 2015 2:47:02 GMT
Perhaps we can put forth a resolution to give us money for the homeless so that they don't make the spread of the disease move faster.
|
|
|
Post by farangu on Jul 15, 2015 3:09:50 GMT
Reads brilliantly. I'd say publish it now, and make sure their names are mentioned in it. Don't want someone stealing our thunder.
Gizzy confirmed with me that the Americans are also not huge fans of the Russian Ukraine push, and are deliberating on offering assistance should Argentina go hot.
|
|
|
Post by discrider on Jul 15, 2015 3:22:13 GMT
Considering the lack of symptoms in carriers of the disease, we should research the advanced scanning tech immediately as otherwise, water or not, we'll be unable to effectively identify infected individuals.
Alternatively we research antivirals and prepare for the inevitable infection, although the current medicine is not going to defend against mutated strains in the future.
|
|
|
Post by Goose! on Jul 15, 2015 5:00:14 GMT
I believe I'm in favor of the research station but have we been included on it?
|
|
|
Post by discrider on Jul 15, 2015 5:45:38 GMT
I believe I'm in favor of the research station but have we been included on it? The diplomat would need to nominate a country and support it in the same vote.
|
|
|
Post by farangu on Jul 15, 2015 11:27:08 GMT
Things I'd like our agent to do this turn:
Investigate the disappearance of the Greek bailout Surveillance on likeliness Argentina will go hot Sabotage of any further Russian military advances
Also is there anything you all want/need me to do? Because I don't really want to instigate anything here, so aside from moving linking up the destroyers in the Atlantic, I don't know if I really want to do anything this turn, which means someone else can probably use my money.
|
|
|
Post by bfl on Jul 15, 2015 12:03:23 GMT
Paper sent for publication. I mentioned the american and German scientists in the paper.
I would have liked to clear it with them first, but Egypt's statement that they have both the cause of the disease and an antiviral drug made me nervous-we have to publish now or we'll be behind.
If either America or Germany objects to the early publication, I'll pledge to nominate future papers of theirs for the Nobel as an apology.
|
|
|
Post by discrider on Jul 15, 2015 12:24:40 GMT
No reason we can't get the diplomat to send more ally invites, although I don't know how much that opens us up to aid requests...
I also think Investigating the disappearance of the Greek bailout with our agent is a good idea.
But also how much money are you expecting to use bfl?
|
|
|
Post by discrider on Jul 15, 2015 12:26:00 GMT
Also fortifying boundaries and getting Ireland onside are good investments I think.
|
|
|
Post by bfl on Jul 15, 2015 13:51:34 GMT
Russia posted their scientific info in the thread rather than going through Sir Fabulous for official publication. In response, I have posted our article in the thread.
I assume it's now a race between Russia and us to get the best scientific partnership. I'll put out invites to several more countries today-Egypt already has antivirals, so they're a must-get.
|
|
|
Post by farangu on Jul 15, 2015 15:24:59 GMT
Also fortifying boundaries and getting Ireland onside are good investments I think. England herself is already fortified, with two divisions of infantry manning the gates. I suspect it would be quite easy at this point for us to actually seal ourselves off, although it would most likely cause a ride in terror and drop in income. I believe we need to make friends with Ireland to get them to secure their borders. In that same vein, Goose should absolutely get France to shut off the Iberian Peninsula with a quickness.
|
|