Leydig Virus: A Susan R. Turner Medical Mystery

Two Women and a Virus

This is a story of two women, Susan and Anna, who have little in common. Susan is a scientist in Boston, where she studies dangerous viruses. The other is a mother and wife in an Amish dairy farming community in upstate New York.

When a new virus affects the Amish farmers; it does not kill or even make its victims very sick. Its distinguishing feature is that it attacks and kills human Leydig cells, which only men have. Leydig cells make testosterone, and their loss has consequences, male infertility being one, loss of libido another. Like Covid, the virus is very contagious and spreads, affecting all aspects of society.

The story is about the discovery and analysis of the virus, and the young scientists who do it. The story eventually brings the two women together. There are consequences - personal and professional - for Anna and Susan and their families. They meet, two stressed and exhausted people, and help restore each other. The way to deal with the virus is revealed but it is neither a vaccine nor a drug.