Download contagion movie

“Contagion” is a Hollywood action thriller movie about the outbreak of deadly virus and consequently
exposing the weakness of the world as a whole. It helps as a reminder that the global world that we are
invasive species and can easily contact new diseases, the bioterrorism attack is quite over exaggerated,
that is why Cheever in the movie clearly states that” someone does not have to weaponize the bird flu ,
the birds are already doing that”. Further more the movie exposes how rumors from the internet and
journalists can create more problems to the public health sector, by infusing into the public the totally
wrong information , to the extent that, the crowd decides the false information, should be the right one
and eventually makes it difficult for people to accept what the health sector says.
The story actually begins when the bat portrayed as infected drops a piece of banana that was assumed
had a virus on it, and was eaten by the pig. Although this was played as a final flashback which owes to
the sense behind starting the movie from day 2. The pig was later killed and prepared for food.
Unfortunately the man who handled the killing of the pig, used bare hands in cleaning the pigs mouth
and got infected by same virus. Ignorant of all these, Beth shook hands with the chef while posing for a
picture and so the chain of the virus spread commenced. This story line made a known complex concept
of interspecies transmission, understandable to the public. Explaining the possible rapid spread of virus
in the society.
The Movie continues as Beth Emhoff from China stops at Chicago and gradually having contact with
people and unknowingly spreading the virus, including infecting her only son Clark who eventually died
same day with Emhoff but the mystery of immunity played on the husband Mitch, who remained
uninfected throughout the movie.
As expected in reality, the CDC , WHO on becoming aware, began to send personnel to actually work
and investigate on this disease. Subsequently, a vaccine was developed to help. The movie, missed all
other possible ways of preventing the disease and focused all on the vaccine to be produced.
In this movie , the case control studies is the epidemiology method used . According to MJ Schneider,
case – control studies start with people who are already ill and look back to determine their exposure
The index case at the beginning was thought to be Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) and studying her
including the autopsy done on her where her brain was opened. Tracing all the contacts with Beth
helped in the studies, with Beth Napkins, binder, glasses, being vectors through which the illness was
transmitted . Though at the end of the movie, it was clearer that the index case was the chef that
slaughtered and prepared the pig with his bare hands. The movie being fictional the downsize of the
contact tracing being so easy and a forced quarantine down.
From the public health point of view, “The contagion” movie looks real and gradually exposes the public
to a real bad case of pandemic and all the problems associated with it. The movie typically exposes how
an outbreak can affect a whole society to the extent of a collapse of transportation, shortage of food,
thereby over loading the healthcare system, and eventually how it can be controlled.
Could this happen ? The answer is yes and no. To some extent, the movie seems to have happened and
can still happen and in some scenarios it seems unrealistic.
Some scenarios that make the movie look real and can happen include:While watching this movie, it kept coming back to me that the movie was all about the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome epidemic (SARS) in 2003 and the Nipah Virus which spread to man from the pigs
in 1999. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SARS was first reported in Asia in
February 2003. The illness was widely spread all over the world. The major mode of spread being
through person to person contact. Like SARS the mortality rate of MEV-1 in the movie is high equally
generated a lot of challenges to the healthcare sector and public health, also affecting the
transportation system. The quick response and intervention of the CDC officials all look real to some
extent considering the fact that the whole pandemic happened in 105 minutes, thereby simply ignoring
the scenarios where the investigators ended up being in charge of the vaccine distribution.
Scenarios that make the movie unrealistic include:Looking at movie, it seems unrealistic that the incubation period of a disease should be about 24 hours
as seen. The few investigators and researchers that were in the movie and also their work and research
towards the development of the vaccine.it is quite unreal looking at how long it has been taken to
develop vaccines for the already existing diseases
How would the CDC control an outbreak such as this? The primary assignment of public health(CDC)
being to maintain a health America, therefore at a call to an outbreak, CDC should work effectively to
determine the cause of the disease, mode of transmission and the originating source.
To control such outbreaks, the following actions should be taken.
1. There should be proper alert system to notify individuals and the society globally on the
outbreak and what is expected of the public to help in fighting the outbreak.
2. Adequate information should be made known to the public, as regards to watch out signs and
symptoms associated with the outbreak.
3. Immediate assessment and alert should take in place once such outbreak is noted.
4. A lot of medical personnel, should be deployed for adequate response and reports
5. Guidelines should be set for the state and local health departments, national agencies,
governmental and intergovernmental agencies, to use in investigations, assessments and case
reports.
6. Establish a well located laboratory to conduct a proper clinical testing to identify the cause and
possible invention of vaccines.
The contagion movie gradually teaches us to work more on the preparedness of future outbreaks.
The truth being that pandemic outbreaks will be inevitable owing to the fact of the growing
population, mutation of pathogens, globalization of the whole world which helps in the spreading
of any originated disease so fast.
Serving as a wake up call to the CDC, WHO, public health practioners, local and state health agencies
to always be prepared.
REFERENCES
Schneider, M.J. (2011)
CDC website