Question

Please give 7 examples from the movie Contagion (2011) that are related to microbiology. Give the example and describe the context or situation in the movie where you found your example.

Answer 1

1. Out break of epidemic- Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) is coughing in an airport lounge and similar series of shots which shows different people are doing the same. This means an outbreak of a epidemic. All these people including Beth died due to the deadly didease.
2. Infection spreading- Beth comes home and hugging both her husband and Son. Son also died due to the diesase. Similarly in Hong Kong, the sister of the young man that was infected has his body cremated and goes to take his ashes away for burial via bus and found dead in the bus. In Chicago, Beth's lover John Neal is being carried out on a stretcher. He has been infected as well from Beth.
3. Immunity to disease- Beth husband Mitch was not contracted with the disease, that means he have some antibodies in their body which work against the disease.
4. Genetic cross- Dr. Ally Hextall a scientist determines the virus is a mix of genetic material from pig and bat viruses and named it as Meningoencephalitis Virus One (MEV-1).
5. Culturing the virus for vaccine production- Dr. Ian Sussman a UCSF professor identified a usable MEV-1 cell culture using bat cells, which Hextal used for producing vaccine.
6. Fomites- In the movie some scientists discovered taht virus is spreading as fomites. Any nonliving object or substance which are capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as viruses or bacteria, and spread the infe from one individual to another. Skin cells, hair, clothing, and bedding are common hospital sources of contamination.
7. Attenuated virus as vaccine- Dr. Hextall discovered a vaccine with attenuated virus and inoculates herself with the experimental vaccine to avoid lengthy process of drug trials and visits her father, a doctor suffering with MEV-1. Hextall does not contract MEV-1 and declared vaccine is a success.