Humanity is currently grappling with the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic, which bears a strong resemblance to the virus depicted in the 2011 American thriller “Contagion”. Many people cannot overlook the eerie parallels between real-life events and the movie’s plot, as they continue to notice more and more similarities.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Scott Z. Burns, the film chronicles the transmission of a fictional airborne virus that also spreads via contaminated surfaces. It turns out that the imaginary MEV-1 pathogen closely mirrors the actual coronavirus. COVID-19 has now reached 181 countries. GoSeekNest, citing CNN, highlights the coincidences that viewers may have observed.
Viral Origin
The final scene of “Contagion” reveals that the fictitious MEV-1 virus originated from a pig that consumed a banana dropped by an infected bat fleeing a fire in China. The pig was subsequently slaughtered and prepared for cooking. The chef, failing to wash his hands after handling the meat, shook hands with Beth Emhoff, making her the first person to contract the disease.
Parallels Between The Movie “Contagion” And The COVID-19 Pandemic
The exact source of the coronavirus remains unknown to scientists, but some epidemiologists suspect that bats and pigs could be potential origins of COVID-19.
Comparable Symptoms
Infected characters in the movie experienced fever, excessive sweating, headaches, sore throat, and coughing. They also suffered from seizures, dizziness, and frothing at the mouth.
All symptoms of COVID-19 align with those of the fictional MEV-1 virus, except for seizures and frothing at the mouth: fever, cough, respiratory difficulties, and a body temperature of at least 37.7 degrees Celsius.
Mode of Transmission
Similar to COVID-19, the virus in the film is a respiratory illness spread through saliva and secretions from sneezes and coughs. The infection can also persist on surfaces when an infected individual touches them.
The transmission of both viruses is worsened by the fact that an average person touches their face thousands of times daily, all while contacting door handles, elevator buttons, and other people.
R0 Values
R0, or the reproductive number, indicates the average number of people an infected individual can pass the virus to.
The fictional MEV-1 virus had an R0 of 4, whereas studies by American and Chinese scientists estimate the coronavirus R0 at 2.2. In other words, each person infected with COVID-19 transmits the virus to roughly two others.
Toward the end of the film, Dr. Ellis Cheever gives a young boy his own vaccine. The child hesitantly shakes Cheever’s hand in gratitude, and Ellis explains the significance of the gesture: “It used to be a way to show a stranger that you are without a weapon and are not a danger.”
One method to slow the virus’s spread is to avoid physical contact with others, including handshakes. The movie offers hope that the real pandemic will eventually end, allowing us to once again shake hands without concern.
Featured image on latimes.com
