Student’s Name Institution Date Contagion is a movie that was released in 2011 which is based on fear, greed, heroism and greed and involves a lot of sick people. This movie is very scary and provides lessons in the field of virology and epidemiology. The movie is set at ever-changing challenges as well as threats of microbial origin that lead to the origin of casualties who vary from few individuals to lots and lots of millions of people. It has been described as a global pandemic as it affected many people all over the world. The outbreak of the disease has been depicted from the rise, vaccination and the prevention methods of a new disease. The origin of the disease has been described at the end of the movie where we find out that a bat with a virus known as paramyxovirus that infects a pig. The pigs that are for human consumption were located near a forest that was being cut down. The pig in turn infects human beings of the earth through a chef. The agent which is very infectious is known as MEV-1 and its potential spread is estimated at 6-7 which suggests that the virus is highly transmissible from one person to the next. The virus has been compared to that of a smallpox virus with a mortality rate of up to 30%. The chef later met a customer, Elizabeth Emhoff and he had not washed his hands after handling the pigs. They shook hands and even took a picture together and later, Elizabeth developed flu-like symptoms which led to her death four days later. These
NiV transmission includes many types of forms to transfer from agent to hosts. Infected bats shed the virus via their excretions and secretions such as their urine, excreta, semen, and saliva, despite them being symptomless carriers. While Nipah virus is extremely contagious among hosts such as pigs, goats, and humans, it is primarily best spread through coughing. The leading source of transmission in humans, however, is through direct contact with infected pigs. This explains why pig farmers were much likely to be infected when exposed to ill livestock in 1999. In fact, “ninety percent of the infected people in the 1998-1999 outbreaks were pig farmers or had contact with pigs” (World Health, p.5). How can we prove the emergence of bat-related infections? While several bat species were losing their natural habitats, it made sense that the
Geraldine Brook’s novel, Year of Wonders is based on a true story which recounts a 17th Century Plague, which struck the English village of Eyam and put many in strife. The story revolves around the protagonist, Anna Frith as she develops strength throughout the novel from being a maid in the beginning of the novel and eventually becomes a midwife. Similarly, Steven Soderbergh’s Film, Contagion is set in 21st Century America, which narrates the epidemic of the MEV1 virus, which causes dispute amongst many characters and has a manipulative effect on the characters in the film. In both the text and the novel, Diseases not only attack individuals but also causes the breakdown in society. Diseases cause the greed and the want for money in some characters, which has a huge impact on society as a whole. Similarly, diseases cause the need for self-preservation in order to survive. On the other hand, diseases cause characters to lose faith.
Infectious epidemics and pandemics have happened all through mankind's history. “They remain the prime cause of death worldwide and will not be conquered during our lifetimes.” The flu of 1918 was one of the deadliest epidemics in history. “It infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide–about one-third of the planet’s population at the time–and killed an estimated 20 million to 50 million victims. More than 25 percent of the U.S. population became sick, and some 675,000 Americans died during the pandemic.” No one knew how the virus spread, there were no antibiotics to fight it, and no flu shots to prevent it. In the final year of World War I, it struck terror in the hearts of people all across Europe and left more death in its wake than the combined military actions of the combatants. “It killed more Americans in a few months than World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the
An epidemic occurs when a disease spreads to more people in one area then usually happens. There have been many epidemics in history that have had devastating effects. Two epidemics that occurred right here in the United States were cholera and scarlet fever. From the 1830’s to the 1860’s, cholera spread throughout the United States killing many people. And in the late 1850’s scarlet fever spread throughout the New England area of the United States. For both of these terrible diseases it is not clear what stopped their rapid spread. Today there is a vaccine for cholera but not for scarlet fever. However, there are ways to protect yourself from catching these diseases. New and stronger illnesses seem to be happening all the time and are in the news. However, we still need to be aware of these diseases from the past so we can keep ourselves healthy.
The disease developed in humans through blood-to-blood contact, which occurred in hunters from rural villages found within the Congo Basin. The hunters most likely came into contact during the hunting and butchering of chimpanzees and other monkeys, which carried the SIV virus. At first the disease wasn’t a threat to humans because for one not a lot of people were being infected, and secondly the immune system would have been able to fight the SIV virus. However, over time with more cross-species transmission, the virus would replicate and through different mutations, it would evolve. Eventually, there would be a mutation in the virus, which would allow the virus to successfully attack a human immune system. This scene explained that since not many were effected to begin with, and because to begin with it wasn’t threatening, that when it became dangerous it didn’t grow at an alarming rate like it would in Haiti in the future. I believe this scene is very efficient at explaining how the virus can adapt so that it would be able to effect the human population like it has to someone who has little knowledge of how viruses work between species. Also I think it is an effective scene, because people are often a lot more sympathetic to animals, and the deaths of animals, so I think that this scene would stick in their brain a lot more than other scenes even if they were just as, or even more
The heavy interaction between humans and wild animals is main reason to cause the smallpox, because in agriculture time, humans in the rural area always stay with the livestock at the same place.
People will Panic during an epidemic and the least of their worry is the disease or the effect. What does this mean is that people are going to want to be more focused to try to survive, They will do anything to live. People will kill for food or shelter. People Panic due to the fact that some deadly thing could kill them so they will go out of there way to get there hands on items that will help them survive.
The film, “Anatomy of a Plague”, highlights the overlooked danger of plagues by displaying a hypothetical outbreak of smallpox against the actual events of the smallpox outbreak in Montreal in 1885. This structure allowed easy explanation and comparison of events, both hypothetical and in the past, which revealed many striking similarities and faults in management of outbreaks. These faults included the difficulty in diagnosis, socioeconomic restraints to getting medicine and leaving the city, and panic and propaganda that all hindered the health and well being of the people of Montreal in 1885, as well as in the current hypothetical model.
In the infectious disease unit, the main focal point consisted of showing the audience how the spread of a major virus may occur in population. In this case, we were presented with two movies: Contagion and 28 Days Later. These movies both displayed an infectious disease, which is spread through animals causing harm to people. A scenario that presented in Contagion seemed to be realistic possibility because a simple transmission of disease from an animal can happen. If the virus is unknown and no vaccine is available, it could certainly cause a lot of harm to a large population of people. Likewise, another possibility was also presented in 28 Days Later, where the viewers see scientist talking about monkey being infected with a virus.
How the disease was transmitted was further looked on by Nelson (1995). According to the said author, the disease was transmitted primarily by fleas and rats. The stomachs of the fleas were infected with bacteria known Y. Pestis. Nelson held that “the bacteria would block the "throat" of infected fleas so that no blood could reach their stomachs, and they grew ravenous since they were starving to death” (1995, par. 14). The bacteria would then attempt to suck up blood from their victims, only to disgorge it back into their preys' bloodstreams (Nelson, 1995). Now, however, the victims' blood was mixed with Y. Pestis. Fleas infected rats in this fashion, and the rats spread the disease to other rats and fleas before dying (Nelson, 1995). Without rodent hosts, the fleas then migrated to the bodies of humans and infected them in the same fashion as they had the rats .
Historically and globally, viral infections have ruled the lives of many. With that, a great example of this idea is seen throughout the movie “Outbreak.” In this movie, a fearful battle between a single virus and humans is established, in addition to scientific ignorance and corruption. Outbreak also describes the emotional liability of humans to save the nation as seen by the president of the United States and military forces. As a result of this information, public health is a key factor throughout the movie and in future nursing practice.
The disease began outpouring in 1926 in Java, Indonesia. The disease spread rapidly, and the widespread of the disease was uncontrollable and have wiped a lot of poultry and birds
In the movie, The Big Sick we are bombarded with all different types of issues that occur within the family. The movie focuses on the main character, Kumail, and his different relationships. Kumail's relationship with his girlfriend, her family, and his family all display some challenges and dysfunctions that can occur in families. As the movie unfolds the various complex familial issues in the family as a whole is revealed. There are cultural issues, secrecy issues and conflict issues.
Since the beginning, humanity has overcome diseases that could potentially wipe out the human race. From earliest forms diseases such as measles to modern day pandemics such as AIDS, mankind has survived throughout history. Though diseases have plagued society it was only after the outbreak of the HIV virus in 1981 that brought to attention the dangers of incurable diseases. Before this time, with World War I and II, and the Cold War, public fear was based on the potential chance of a nuclear destruction of the planet. Since the outbreak of the HIV in 1981, public anxiety has been displaced from nuclear winter to that of microbial plagues. The enemy was now no longer a visible foe but that of an unknown contagion with no knowable cure. Recently in 2009, with the outbreak of the Swine Flu (H1N1) Virus public alert of the dangers of contagions increased. Science Fiction films since the outbreak of HIV have reflected the public fear of the unknown and unbeatable contagions. Films such as Outbreak (1995), Contagion (2011) and the recent World War Z (2013) have shown audiences a creative window of possible outcomes of an epidemic and what man would do in order to stop the
Sickness, pain, chaos, the themes you see when you peer into the screen that is providing you with not only entertainment, but a message. A message that is leaving you with only questions about your reality: Could this really happen to me? Is the society I live in really that easily manipulated? See we often separate philosophical thoughts (such as fear and happiness) and scientific thoughts (such as flight or fight) when we consider our health and society; yet as films such as Contagion and Motorcycle Diaries—two films that seem to take opposite stances on the issue—reveal the only way to understand the ways health affects every aspect of our life is to consider flight/fight and fear/happiness are really two sides of the same coin. Health and society are themes that are prevalent throughout our lives each and everyday and these films do just to show us just how important those are. Through concepts like philosophical and a scientific approach we can see just how these two films are revolving around the central themes of health and society.