AN: Sorry about the lag on updating; 'real life' and all that…

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters to Stargate Atlantis, nor am I making any type of profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for enjoyment only.

Just a Case of the Flu

By Kerr Avon

"Sit down, please." Dr. Weir's tone was somber.

Sheppard, Teyla, and McKay looked at each other curiously as they complied. The Major leaned forward, "Elizabeth, what's going on?"

Dr. Weir answered him, but with her eyes fixed on the Athosian leader. "I'm afraid that there's a problem." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "Teyla, your people have come down with an illness. Jinto and Halling were first, but most of the settlement has gotten sick now."

The younger woman felt as if she'd been punched in the gut; all her breath went out in a whoosh. Distantly she was aware of Major Sheppard's supportive hand on her shoulder, but it seemed surreal. "How is that possible? We were only gone a day."

Weir sighed and massaged her forehead. "Dr. Lawrence says that it's both extremely virulent and highly contagious, at least among the Athosians. I've suspended Gate travel until I'm certain that we won't be spreading something to the rest of the Pegasus Galaxy."

Teyla nodded. "Very wise." Leaning forward, she continued intently, "May I see my people now? I would like to help if I can."

Weir nodded. "We need all the help we can get. The patients are overflowing into the hallways. I've got Bates working on setting up a nearby conference room as an infirmary annex, but it will be a lot of work moving people into it." She turned to stare pointedly at Sheppard, given his recent history of disobeying orders. "There is a table filled with clean masks and gloves as you enter the hallway leading to the Medlab. They are to be worn at all times when in the contaminated area. If the table is empty, call someone to bring more out. Understand?"

The major had the grace to look embarrassed. "Yeah, I get it."

McKay interjected, "Why aren't we wearing full HazMat gear?"

Weir nodded. "Good question. The doctors are convinced that this is an airborne virus, and that these precautions are adequate. However, the doctors have requested that only people involved in direct patient care enter the Infirmary, just to be on the safe side."

Rodney sat back, relieved. "Fine, then. Carson can call me if he needs me. I'll just be in my lab." He ignored the narrow-eyed glare Teyla shot him as he rose and left the room.

Beckett strode into the pandemonium that had once been MedLab like a battleship through a storm. Doctors, nurses, and soldiers who'd been conscripted as orderlies rushed frantically about on various errands, dodging equipment and each other. Extra fold-out cots had been brought in and lined one side of the room, extending out into the far hallway. The two cooling blankets brought by the medical team were being employed on two of the original medical beds, which Beckett assumed represented Jinto and Halling, the first two to fall ill. His eyes narrowed as he noted the oxygen tubing leading to the beds as well. He was sorely tempted to put two fingers in his mouth and whistle for silence, but knew that nothing good would come of it. Besides, it would be difficult to do with the gloves and mask. He scanned the room, looking for his chief surgeon so he could get a more cohesive report on current events. A familiar short-haired slight woman caused him to do a double-take, and he whispered to Nurse Galas, "Is that who I think it is?"

The nurse nodded. "Yes, even Dr. Biro has been trying to help."

That was a little worrisome. The pathologist had the bedside manner of a wounded wolverine, and clinical skills to match. Still, once in her native field of endeavor, there were none sharper. "Wouldn't she be of more use in virology, trying to ID this strain of flu?"

Shelly just shrugged as a flustered sergeant spotted her, "Nurse Galas? Can you help me?"

Beckett nodded as Shelly shot him an apologetic glance and hurried off. Catching sight of Dr. Lawrence at Jinto's bedside, he headed that direction. The Philippine surgeon was studying the child's vital signs chart as if it would yield the secrets of the universe. The small body in the bed was covered in sweat despite the cooling blanket, and the boy's chest heaved with the effort of breathing. Carson could actually hear the wheezing from a good twelve feet away, despite the mist rising from the facemask that bespoke of an albuterol in-line nebulizer. Just as Carson arrived at the bedside, dull eyes opened in the flushed face, and a small voice whispered, "Am I going to die?"

Derek put a gloved hand on the boy's forehead reassuringly, and replied, "No, of course not. You're just very sick right now, but you'll get better. Just wait and see."

"What about Father?" the boy continued.

Derek kept his voice low and comfortable despite the melee around them. "He's sick, too, but he's going to get well. You both are."

Jinto nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing into sleep as the albuterol eased the swelling in his bronchi. Dr. Lawrence just stood there a moment before sighing and looking up.

Upon catching Dr. Beckett's eye, he jerked his head to the right, indicating a nearby storage area. The two men proceeded to the relative calm of the shelving before Derek spoke.

"It's bad, Carson, really bad." Derek shook his head and glanced at the floor, then back at Carson. Brown eyes bored into blue; "It's like nothing I've ever seen. People seem relatively healthy just moments before they keel over or throw up." He looked back at the anarchy they had just left. "The kids and elderly are the worst off; no surprise there. But to watch a strong, healthy ox of a man like Halling pitch over like a sack of potatoes…" he trailed off uncomfortably.

"Tis disturbing, I know. And we could be next, despite everything. Any idea where it came from?"

Derek shook his head. "No, no one's been sick on Atlantis, and Halling's people can't recall anyone that they've traded with recently being ill, either."

"So it probably originated on this planet, either here or on the mainland…" Beckett stroked his chin thoughtfully with his non-injured hand, then shook himself. "Right now, however, the important thing is treating the patients."

As if on cue, Shelly came rushing over to where they were discussing the problem. "There you are. Dr. Beckett, Dr. Lawrence - we need you." Without waiting for their reply, she hurried off with a sputum sample for culture.

Derek shrugged. "No rest for the wicked." He turned to deal with the latest emergency, then paused. "Um, sir, it would really be helpful if you could, um…" At a loss for words, he gestured to the infirmary main unit, where Dr. Biro could be heard relentlessly questioning one of the Athosians as to their symptom complex.

Carson chuckled, despite the gravity of their current situation. "Don't worry, lad, I'll whisk her off to more useful work, then be right back to help out."

Derek shot him a grateful glance and followed the nurse.

As he headed for his crackerjack pathologist, he noted that his hand had begun to throb. 'Must remember to re-wash and re-bandage that bite,' he told himself.

"Dr. Biro, a word please." Snagging the engrossed woman by her elbow, he smiled at the elderly woman lying on the cot. "If you will excuse us?" The woman sighed and closed her eyes as he led away her interrogator.

The pathologist was delighted to see Dr. Beckett, and could hardly wait to discuss the disease. Carson for his part refrained from admonishing her about browbeating the patients; she tended to be insensitive when faced with a puzzle, but could be paralyzed by remorse once her faux pas had been pointed out. Dr. Biro was a very talented pathologist, both macroscopic and microscopic; he needed her to concentrate on the problem at hand, rather than wallowing in guilt.

Dr. Biro was expositing. "As you know, on Earth the problem with the flu virus is antigenic drift; that's why we never have two flu epidemics from exactly the same virus. Flu virus constantly undergoes minor genetic changes that alter the constitution of its surface antigens, and every small change makes the virus less familiar to the human immune system and reduces the degree of immunity."

Beckett refrained from rolling his hand in a Rodney McKay, 'hurry up and get to the point'. "Yes, Dr. Biro, I was aware of the concept." They walked into the quieter corridor and headed towards the virology labs.

Continuing as if she had not been interrupted, the shorter woman stated, "Then, of course, we have the much more problematic antigenic shift. This is thought to happen when human viral strains incorporate genes from animal viral strains, usually from birds. When a person is infected directly from a bird, they tend to become gravely ill."

"So you think that's what has happened here?" Carson asked as they walked.

"Unlikely. Avian viruses in their natural state generally infect a human only after repeated, very close exposure; when this does happen, it is not easily spread from human to human. For so many people to have gotten ill at the same time, epidemiology requires human to human transmission." Biro was in top form.

"So how does the virus manage to mutate so that human to human transmission occurs?" Beckett wanted to keep her talking until he could get her seated in front of a microscope and not in front of a patient.

Biro smiled toothily and raised a finger. "Ah, there's the interesting bit. On Earth, domestic pigs can be readily infected both by bird flu strains and by human flu strains. Those pigs act as a kind of viral 'mixing bowl' between the bird strain and the human strain leading to a major antigenic shift in the virus."

Beckett steered her into the lab; Dr. Biro hadn't even noticed that she'd been led out of the infirmary as she'd been avidly speaking. Now she looked about her in confusion.

Pointing to a nearby microscope, Beckett suggested, "Have a seat."

"But I need to find out what sorts of domesticated animals the Athosians have on the mainland, and then I need blood samples from them to analyze."

"Yes, well, you can start with the human samples; let's make certain that we're dealing with a normal virus and not another engineered nanovirus." He gestured emphatically to the rows of blood sample tubes lined up next to her elbow. "Lieutenant Ford or somebody can go to the Mainland and collect your animal blood; only you and a few others are qualified to examine those specimens and come up with a cure or a vaccine."

Biro nodded; the ego stroking hadn't hurt, either. "I'll get right on it, sir." So saying, she reached for the first specimen.

TBC…..

AN: For those of you who don't remember, Dr. Biro was the pathologist in "Hot Zone" and yes, she really speaks like that. (I'm just not sure I spelled her name right - this was the only spelling I could find). Nurse Shelly Galas and Dr. Derek Lawrence are based on some people I know, but their names have been changed.

So, what do you think so far?