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been assembled from a wide variety of specialties to participate in the GNS project. A select group will be part of a presidential task force. The most up-to-date equipment and support services have been placed at their fingertips. With over a thousand women already affected, I expect this investigation will become as comprehensive and far-reaching as any medical inquiry the Centers for Disease Control has ever embarked upon.”
    â€œHas there been any progress at all with respect to finding the cause?” Casey asked.
    â€œNot so far, but we are pursuing any and all plausible leads.”
    Not wanting to entertain any further follow-up questions from Casey, Brickell hastily shifted her eyes to the opposite side of the room. She gestured at John Versellie, from the
Boston Globe
.
    In a high-pitched voice, he inquired, “Do you have any idea at all how the disease is being transmitted?”
    â€œNot at this time.”
    â€œAccording to the information released by your office, many of these women are in their final trimester, yet none of them has gone into labor or delivered. Can you tell us why?”
    â€œThe simple answer to your question is, no, I can’t. What we do know is that none of our patients is beyond thirty-two weeks, which means none has reached her expected delivery date. Another possibility is the disease itself may be delaying the onset of labor. We know that certain neurologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries can do that.” Versellie again raised his notepad, but instead of recognizing him, Brickell said, “In anticipation of your next question, John, we don’t know why women in their final few weeks or those in their first trimester seem to be immune to GNS.”
    Brickell next called upon Maggie Fitzsimmons from MSNBC, a physician who had resigned from her internal medicine residency at the University of Miami five years earlier to pursue a career as a medical correspondent.
    â€œGenerally, a baby born at thirty-two weeks would have an excellent chance of survival. Has any consideration been given to either inducing labor or performing a cesarean section to see if ending the pregnancy will cure the illness?”
    â€œYes, we have considered that possibility. The problem is that delivering these babies could be extremely dangerous and perhaps even fatal to both mother and baby. The stress of labor and the administration of anesthetic drugs are all unknowns in patients with GNS. The other issue is that these infants might be highly contagious and even using the most sophisticated isolation techniques, they might represent an enormous risk to other infants and their caretakers.”
    â€œIf it is determined that ending the pregnancy will halt the disease, will President Kellar address the possibility of recommending termination for those women whose babies are too premature to be delivered?”
    â€œI don’t speak for the president, but as a rule, the chief executive doesn’t make medical recommendations.”
    â€œBut wouldn’t the president and his administration consider this more of a moral question than a medical one?”
    Brickell raised her hand above the murmur.
    â€œLadies and gentlemen, we have a serious problem on our hands. For the moment, our goal is to quickly isolate the cause of GNS and to formulate an effective treatment plan that will lead to a cure. That’s what we all need to stay focused on.”
    As Dr. Brickell expected, the reporters were relentless,and for the next thirty minutes she continued to field one difficult question after another. Finally, she leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of the lectern. Her eyes found a persistent young man who had moved into the aisle. With a nod and a gesture, she recognized Tony Williamson, a new correspondent from Reuters whom she had met at her last press conference. It was immediately obvious to her then that whatever he lacked in