“Does he live around livestock, do you know?” “Livestock?” he said. “He lives in a flat in Headington.” “Mutant strains are sometimes produced by the intersection of an avian virus with a human strain. The WIC wants us to check possible avian contacts and exposure to radiation. Viral mutations have sometimes been caused by X rays.” She studied the printout as though it made sense. “It’s an unusual mutation. There’s no recombination of the hemagluttinin genes, only an extremely large point mutation.” No wonder she had not told Gilchrist. He had said he would open the laboratory when the
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