==JAPAN: KM== [Medical Themes]

"BIOHAZARD"-- hearing the word may sound attractive and mysterious, but most people don't know its real meaning and that it may lead us humans to ruin. It is more fearful for me than a nuclear bomb or a prophecy of Nostradamus.
My first meeting with this "BIOHAZARD" came from a book I had borrowed from my high school friend who said it was interesting. The title of the book was "Hot Zone", referring to a dangerous place. Frankly speaking, it was more terrible than interesting. I had been afraid while watching TV or movies, but this was the first time that I had feared to read a book.
The main contents of the book were about the real harms of one virus called the "filo virus". In Latin "Filo" means having the shape of a thread. Most germs are ball-shaped, but this one can be compared to a tangle of rope or hair or worms. If this virus were pretty like a worm, that would be a wonderful thing. Compared to the "filo virus", the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) which causes AIDS is a mere baby. The "Filo's" are divided into three classes which are "Marburg", "Ebola Sudan", "Ebola Zaire". The death rates for them are 23%, 53% and 88% respectively. These values are astonishingly high. In other words, if one got infected with Ebola Zaire, he would almost certainly die.
These virus destroy humans' immunity systems like HIV does, but they accomplish the destruction in 10 days, while HIV takes almost 10 years. And the Ebola virus especially attacks human connective tissue with terrifying ferocity. As a result, the skin breaks, and it starts bleeding. Such bloody spots erupt on the whole body. For a while, the skin is flabby, and it can be torn by a very slight force. The bleeding occurs in the mouth, and around the teeth. In fact, there is also loss of blood from all of the body's openings. And what happens to the internal organs? Firstly, the heart itself bleeds. Secondly the liver swells, and turns from healthy pink to yellow. Then it begins to disintegrate and stops functioning. Finally the liver itself decays. Thirdly, the kidneys are blocked up by many dead cells, and their function also is stopped. As you see, all of the internal organs are perfectly ruined. The experts in "firo virus" express these conditions of the patients as "Burst" and "Blood spout".
And the real fear of "Filo" is its power of infection. The virus easily travels from person to person through blood, saliva, or any other human secretions. Of course, one could be infected even from a corpse. As is mentioned above, the internal organs are ruined, and the body is full of the virus. So, the disposal of a body needs special care, because a person who is infected is just like "a human virus bomb". To make matters worse, "Ebola Zaire" especially has the capability of air infection, if it becomes airborne. For example, suppose that an infected person is Japanese and he takes a well-known crowded commuter train. The Ebola's early stage is like a cold, so no wonder he gives a sneeze, and coughs. Once that happens, the "Ebola" could infect most people in the car. One month would be enough for infected people to appear throughout Japan. I think everyone can understand how this can happen, because one billion virus can fit on the dot of the letter "i". Now, airplanes fly all over the world. That is to say the virus can travel wherever people live. The worst of it is, there are no treatments for the virus. The only thing that a doctor can do is to try to recover the patient's strength. But most patients die in about one week.
Now, the only hope of humans is that somehow the "Filo's" don't become widespread. They appear from somewhere in the forest, and suddenly rage, and go back to the forest again. We don't know its cariers. Is it an African monkey or elephant or lion or bat in a cave or insect? It is certain that a nuclear bomb and the greenhouse effect have a bad effect all over lives on the earth, but the "Filo's" attack only humans and monkeys. We can prevent the nuclear bomb by not pushing its button or not making it any longer. We have some measures to take against the greenhouse effect. In the case of Nostradamus we only have not to believe. But, if we took no notice of "the Filo virus", they might put a period to the human history. "BIOHAZARD"-- it might be Nature just revenging on us humans.

COMMENT
Now, civilized humans cannot live without deforestation. They cut down trees to get woods and paper. It is said that forest areas larger than Shikoku are cut down every year. In deep forests, people may encounter unknown pathogenic organ. The author says it is more fearful than a nuclear bomb and it will revenge on humans, and I think so, too. I think virus like "Filo's" is something like the immunity system of nature. Because if I were a forest, I would regard humans as virus. Though humans make a new antibiotic substance, nature will send more fearful virus to humans. The progress of science has made our life far more comfortable, but it has also made us feel as if we have conqured nature. We must not forget that humans are at a loss for what to do in face of the greatness, wonders, and violence of nature.

FUMIYA SATO