Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pubpol122 Presentation1 Contagion
Pubpol122 Presentation1 Contagion
By Keanu Bellamy
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism Response (PUBLPOL122)
Table of Contents
(Quick) Overview of Movie
Medical Concepts in Movie
Accuracies and Inaccuracies of Movie
Lessons Learned from Movie
Contagion in Popular Culture Today
Overview of Movie
Contagion: Synopsis
Medical Concepts
1. Overview of Medical Concepts
2. Definition of Introduced Medical Terms
Many real medical terms are used to help imbue the movie with a
sense of realness in the discussion of the MEV-1 virus pandemic and
search for a vaccine.
The movie shows how strains of a virus from different animals can
combine to create a new strain that has never been seen before
Example
fomites
Disease
Transmissio R0
n
Measles
Airborne
12-18
Smallpox
Airborne
Droplet
5-7
SARS
Airborne
Droplet
2-5
Influenza
Airborne
Droplet
2-3
MEV-1
Fomites
Premutatio
n
MEV-1
Fomites
Postmutati
on
(cont)
Top left: A researcher for the CDC working with the influenza virus
under biosafety level 3 conditions, with a respirator inside a biosafety
cabinet
Top right: Inside a Class III biological safety cabinet with an aerosol
control platform
Inaccuracies
Comparisons with Real Viruses
How Real Outbreak is Controlled
Unanswered Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Predisposing Factors
Enabling/Disabling Factors
Precipitation Factors
Reinforcing Factors
More recently with H1N1 (swine flu), from March 18, 2009
(the first diagnosed case), to May 1, 2009, only an estimated
331 cases were diagnosed
Differences:
Symptoms of infection
Background on SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome is a viral respiratory
disease caused by the SARS coronavirus.
The SARS epidemic started in the Guangdong Province of
China between late 2002 and early 2003.
Within a few months populations throughout the world
were affected.
Chinese government officials did not inform the World
Health Organization of the outbreak until February 2003.
This lack of openness caused delays in efforts to control
the epidemic
Myalgia
Lethargy
Cough
Sore Throat
Shortness of breath
Similarities to MEV-1
Both SARS and the MEV-1 virus emerged in remote
locations in China
Both were carried to Hong Kong by infected people
Both were carried worldwide by air travellers
Both are transmitted by airborne droplets as well as by
fomites
MEV-1 symptoms:
Why do they not also get sick in the same numbers as the rest of
the world?
Why is there not large scale defection from the military, same as
the 25% reduction in capacity that the police encountered?
Consultation
Tracking of contacts
Infection Control
Lessons Learned
1. Social Commentary
2. Power of Internet and Social Media
3. Epidemic Preparedness (General & Movie Takeaways)
Lessons Learned:
Social Commentary
A large part of the overarching commentary regarding
reaction to the pandemic in Contagion is social
There is mass hysteria and panic, riots, disorder
This raises many personal questions
How will we decide how and to whom the drugs are distributed
Lessons Learned:
Social Commentary
An overarching theme of the movie is the reluctance of
government officials to inform the public about the
epidemic for fear of inducing panic
Both the US and Chinese governments exhibit this
behavior, citing the reaction to other epidemics as
examples (H1N1)
Similar reactions can be found in real life to Ebola,
Swine Flu, etc
Lessons Learned:
Social Commentary
Contagion helps show that we are unprepared for such
panic driven behavior.
Yes, the movie does show use of the military as an effective
tool to counteract this rowdy social behavior.
Lessons Learned:
Power of Internet and Social Media
Social Media and the Internet often propagate the
hysteria and panic surrounding epidemics
They help drive this by the large amounts of
misinformation and false-truths that are readily
available and accessible by billions of people
Fear spreads faster then the disease itself
Lessons Learned:
Power of Internet and Social Media
In Contagion, the blogger and freelance writer Alan
Krumwiede, convinces his 12 million followers that the
government is lying and their vaccine is useless
Instead he pitches his own homeopathic remedy,
forsythia
He pretends to have contracted the virus and to have
cured himself through use of forsythia, going so far as
to team up with hedge funds and other corporations to
get rich off sales of the drug much like Vicks VapoRub
did after the flu epidemic of 1918.
Lessons Learned:
Power of Internet and Social Media
Krumwiedes actions lead to mass hysteria of people seeking forsythia.
They overwhelm pharmacies causing violent riots and increasing the
spread of infection
His claims attract national attention from where he is able to discredit
the CDC and their lead doctor, Dr. Cheever, further adding fuel to the
fires of fear
Despite later being arrested for conspiracy and securities fraud, and
blood work proving that he never actually contracted the virus,
Krumwiede is released on bail through donations from his fans
His arrest would have been inconsequential, having already stoked
societys fears
Lessons Learned:
Power of Internet and Social Media
Krumwiede helps reflect the growing influence of the
internet and social media through blogs and other
websites on public opinion
Not only do they disseminate information rapidly, they
hold such a large audience of easily swayed people,
without many checks on the factuality of information
displayed
Lessons Learned:
General Epidemic Preparedness
There are weak links and blind spots around the world that lack the
health systems needed to detect an outbreak before it becomes a
crisis.
Less than 20% of countries have reported meeting WHO
requirements showing they are adequately prepared to respond to
emerging infectious threats
There needs to be increased local disease prevention and
monitoring systems, improved laboratory facilities and
strengthening of emergency response to outbreaks
The ripple effect that one unprepared country can have
Learning to tackle one disease can pay off against each other
Lessons Learned:
General Epidemic Preparedness
The importance of preparedness at the hospital level
The expected volume of patients in a pandemic
highlights the need for plans that incorporate
measures to provide quality care to affected patients,
protect health care personnel from from health care
associated infection, and maintain continuity of core
operations in the face of an epidemic
Lessons Learned:
General Epidemic Preparedness
Comprehensive EPRI plans must address the following:
Lessons Learned:
Epidemic Preparedness
We are badly prepared for future outbreaks
Lessons Learned:
Epidemic Preparedness
Better coordination is necessary
Many agencies are responsible for responding to a
pandemic emergency and it is complex to ensure that
the communication and coordination between
agencies leads to effective responses to emergency
situations
Plague Inc