The definition of a patient zero is the person identified as the first carrier of a communicable disease in an outbreak or related cases. In other words patient zero is the first person aware to the world of a disease. With the information received from the NPR RadioLab podcast episode “Patient Zero - Updated” the conclusion can be made that the more information society gains about diseases and their origins, fear and anxiety about the unknown grows. The first disease discussed in the “Patient Zero - Updated” podcast is typhoid fever. This disease is rare among most countries but when it was first discovered, it was an epidemic that was killing hundreds across the United States. Typhoid fever is transmitted through contaminated food and
…show more content…
30 homosexual men were asked to be patients in a study to make the disease public. Each man was asked to list every person they had sex with. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the information from the study and replaced the names of the patients with a number. Each number connected to other numbers with a single line to represent sexual partners. There was one special circle where every line came back to. This circle had the number zero in the center. Years later, Randy Schultz wrote a book titled And the Band Played on which revealed the identity of patient zero. The man’s name was Gaëtan Dugas. He was described as a beautiful man who had unlimited sexual stamina. He was an international traveler who slept with thousands of men. According to Selma Dritz, once Dugas found out he was dieing he would vindictively sleep with men when the lights were off. Once they had sex he would turn the lights on and say “I am dying and have gay cancer, now so do you.”. Dugas believed he was cursed and was on a mission to curse others like …show more content…
Viruses have a mind of their own, and in the years to come who knows how they will have mutated and developed. What seems like a runny nose or just the flu could develop into an immune system attacker that can kill its host in days. As society gains more information about the unknown in viruses, the more it strikes fear in their lives. It causes society to act irrationally and lock up who ever they can find to make themselves feel safe. When it comes to diseases that can kill people will break constitutional and human rights to gain a false sense of peace. While society tries to isolate the contagious they should be more concerned with how to stop the transmission of the disease. Stop bodily fluids from making contact and the disease won’t spread. That means no more sharing food or drinks, no public swimming pools, no more sex, and don’t even think about using public restrooms. By the time society can be protected from the transmission of viruses, the virus will have plenty of time to develop into a mutated version of it that can be transmitted in a completely different way. Once too much information is discovered about diseases changes the way society lives, and it is information that society can not unlearn. This idea is similar to the overall theme of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and a choice of nightmares. Be killed by the disease itself, or the paranoia and fear of the
30 homosexual men were asked to be patients in a study to make the disease public. Each man was asked to list every person they had sex with. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the information from the study and replaced the names of the patients with a number. Each number connected to other numbers with a single line to represent sexual partners. There was one special circle where every line came back to. This circle had the number zero in the center. Years later, Randy Schultz wrote a book titled And the Band Played on which revealed the identity of patient zero. The man’s name was Gaëtan Dugas. He was described as a beautiful man who had unlimited sexual stamina. He was an international traveler who slept with thousands of men. According to Selma Dritz, once Dugas found out he was dieing he would vindictively sleep with men when the lights were off. Once they had sex he would turn the lights on and say “I am dying and have gay cancer, now so do you.”. Dugas believed he was cursed and was on a mission to curse others like …show more content…
Viruses have a mind of their own, and in the years to come who knows how they will have mutated and developed. What seems like a runny nose or just the flu could develop into an immune system attacker that can kill its host in days. As society gains more information about the unknown in viruses, the more it strikes fear in their lives. It causes society to act irrationally and lock up who ever they can find to make themselves feel safe. When it comes to diseases that can kill people will break constitutional and human rights to gain a false sense of peace. While society tries to isolate the contagious they should be more concerned with how to stop the transmission of the disease. Stop bodily fluids from making contact and the disease won’t spread. That means no more sharing food or drinks, no public swimming pools, no more sex, and don’t even think about using public restrooms. By the time society can be protected from the transmission of viruses, the virus will have plenty of time to develop into a mutated version of it that can be transmitted in a completely different way. Once too much information is discovered about diseases changes the way society lives, and it is information that society can not unlearn. This idea is similar to the overall theme of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and a choice of nightmares. Be killed by the disease itself, or the paranoia and fear of the