Although tussis is the primary source of these particles, the inclusion of nuclear polyhedrosis virus allows for Cobra to form crystals, which can be easily processed into a fine powder. Although not as contagious as the influenza virus, it spreads rapidly through the same vectors as the common cold, mainly via airborne particulate matter coming in contact with the mucous membranes of the respiratory system.

The infection initially presents common cold-like symptoms and a characteristic blistering process in the nose and mouth, before invading the nervous system. The infective agent, code-named 'Cobra' by the protagonists, is a recombinant virus made from modified variants of the nuclear polyhedrosis virus (a normally moth-afflicting virus), the rhinovirus, and smallpox. The specific brainpox described in the novel is a fictional chimeric virus that attacks the human brain. The book describes these three characters' journey to discover the source of the lethal virus Cobra, in the other three sections, 'Decision', 'Reachdeep', and 'The Operation'. Alice Austen, Mark Littleberry, and Will Hopkins. The third section, 'Diagnosis', describes the autopsy of Kate Moran and, introduces the key characters of Dr. The next section, titled '1969', describes tests done in the sixties by the U.S. The first section, named 'Trial', starts with a teenage girl named Kate Moran who violently dies one day in school.

The cobra event book