I definitely believe that there can be another pandemic as large as the 1918 flu pandemic, and I feel as though we are watching “The Next Big One” play out right before our very eyes. We learned in class that to fit the criteria of “The Next Big One,” the virus has to be recent, spread through the animal population, and be able to mutate itself… and the new coronavirus fits that criteria. The new coronavirus has been traced back to a seafood market (much like SARS) and accounts for more than 4,500 confirmed cases and over one hundred deaths have been reported around the world. The media is being very careful not to call it SARS but is comparing it to SARS quite often. We hoped as though this virus would be isolated to Asia, but it is hopping on planes and spreading all over. While some countries are taking measures to keep this new virus out of their country, but for some it has been too late. With the Chinese New Year, people were travelling all over, spreading this virus to twenty-two countries, including five cases in here in the U.S. Individuals who have brought this virus back to the United States showed no symptoms during travel, but became ill not long after arriving in the U.S. While China has now put a hold on travel it seems to be a little too late. The coronavirus has spread to twenty-two countries outside of Asia, infecting over 8,000 people, and it looks like it is just getting started.
Quammen, David. “We Made the Coronavirus Epidemic.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Jan. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/opinion/coronavirus-china.html.
Bendix, Aria. “US Officials Are Testing for the New Coronavirus in 36 States after 5 Cases Were Confirmed. Here's What We Know about the US Patients.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 30 Jan. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-coronavirus-us-cases-health-risk-2020-1#the-us-government-evacuated-195-americans-from-wuhan-on-tuesday-7.