The Movie Contagion

Superior Essays
Epidemiology Exercise
1. Briefly describe the natural history of the disease in the outbreak; its progression from onset (exposure) to resolution.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2012b), the natural history of the disease refers to the course of a disease from its onset until resolution or death occurs. For the purpose of this question, I will discuss the natural of history of the disease focusing on patient zero. Other’s exposed had variation in the length of time it took to progress from exposure to the onset of symptoms the average range was approximately 1-2 days and disease spectrums ranged from mild to fatal. However, some exposed never presented with the disease, as they were immune.
In the movie Contagion, the agent is a paramixavirus that Emhoff picked up unknowingly from a chef who was preparing the infected pig for a meal when he was interrupted for a picture with Emhoff (Soderbergh et al., 2012). The
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One method of primary prevention identified in this outbreak was when the droplet precautions and contact precautions were initiated. The public was taught about the virus modes of transmission through radio and television and health official utilized droplet and contact precautions. These in preventative measures were effective in preventing Jory the stepdaughter of Emhoff from becoming infected as she wore a mask in public and did not make physical contact with others infected (Soderbergh et al., 2012). One noteworthy moment in the movie was when the nurses went on strike until protocols were in place as they were advocating for their safety (Soderbergh et al., 2012). It 's hard to determine the level of success these preventative measures had, as the highest level of prevention was the vaccine that was developed by Dr. Hextall (Soderbergh et al.,

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