For this discussion post I will be using the movie Contagion. Contagion is about what happens before, during, and the aftermath associated with a deadly virus called MEV-1. Contagion has various big name actors starring it, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Bryan Cranston, to name a few. The film documents the spread of a virus through fomites. The proper definition of fomites is “any object capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as germs, bacteria and/or parasites to an individual”. The film also focuses on the attempts of medical researchers and health investigators challenge to locate and identify the virus, stop the spread of the virus and finally a vaccination for the disease, and the loss of social order during the pandemic. The start of the movie we are introduced to Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) who has a layover in Chicago, Illinois after returning from a business trip in Hong Kong. Beth is seen having an affair in Chicago with an ex-boyfriend. When she returns home to her husband and children she starts to exhibit symptoms of the common cold. As her symptoms progress she is sent to the hospital where she starts to have grand-mal seizures, her son too has symptoms which required him to be sent home from school. Her husband Mitch, played by Matt Damon looks on helplessly while Beth succumbs to the mysterious virus. Since the doctors are unaware of the newly acquired mystery virus, they blame Beth’s illness on meningoencephalitis virus, which also affects central nervous system. Meanwhile, back at Emhoff’s home, Beth son also succumbs from the mysterious virus. Mitch and his daughter are now placed in isolation from the unexplained deaths.
As the disease starts to go rampant the Department of Homeland Security comes up with the idea that the unknown virus is really a biological weapon to cause harm and destruction to the citizens of the United States. At this point Chicago and Minneapolis come under martial law. Martial law is when the United States military to maintain order, security. Meanwhile, at the CDC, Dr. Ally Hextall (Jennifer Ehle) discovers that the virus is a blend of genetic material from pigs and bats. Scientists aren’t able to find a similar cell or medium to culture the pathogen, they do however, identify the virus as Meningoencephalitis Virus One (MEV-1). Meanwhile, the global death toll has reached 26 million. The scientist eventually find a suitable cell and medium to culture the MEV-1 virus and develop a vaccine, which they give out using a lottery system.
In the concluding summary, a man driving a bulldozer for Beth Emhoff's company collapses a palm tree in which bats are nesting. A bat flies over a pig and drops a banana into the sty, where it is eaten by a pig. This is how MEV-1 came about as a bat-pig hybrid virus. The pig is then taken to be cooked by a casino. While preparing the pig, the chef wipes his hands on his apron and shakes Beth Emhoff’s hands. It turns out that Beth Emhoff was the original carrier of the MEV-1 virus, this makes her patient zero.
The movie did a great job at how similar the protocols are if such an event would take place. The whole way that the virus was first introduced and how fast it spread made sense. Contagion put things into perspective and that is always wash your hands before eating or at least use the alcohol base gels to reduce the risk of unwanted diseases. This whole plot of this story could've been prevented if the chef washed his hands before shaking hands with Elizabeth Emhoff.