Inflamed by past scares and Hollywood disaster blockbusters, few things feed collective panic like a virus, experts said Thursday, as China locked down the epicentre of a deadly flu-like outbreak.

AFP spoke to health specialists to find out why this is the case, and what can be done to limit the spread of worry.

- Why so scary? -

"There is an innate sense of fear around disease outbreaks, principally because it is an invisible enemy to the human eye," said Adam Kamradt-Scott, an expert in the spread and control of infectious diseases at the University of Sydney.

"This generates a level of fear, as no-one can really know if they have been infected until symptoms develop, by which time it may be too late."

Unlike bacterial infections, which can be treated by antibiotics, viruses respond to very few treatments, according to Sanjaya Senanayake, associate professor of medicine at The Australian National University.

"Also, respiratory viruses, such as influenza, seem to spread more easily from person to person than bacterial infections, and therefore have a higher outbreak potential," he said.

The outbreak has so far claimed 26 lives across China. Autorities say there have been more than 800 confirmed cases, with infections reported in several Asian countries and the United States.

Science historian Laurent-Henri Vignaud said popular culture plays an underappreciated role in conditioning populations to fear pandemics.

"It's like in horror films where those infected become zombies," he said.

"It's extremely unsettling because it calls into question the social bond. We come to fear the sick."

- What can authorities do? -

The main driver of anxiety over the new strain of virus is likely to be its similarity to SARS, a viral lung infections which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003.

The Chinese government took months to report SARS and initially denied World Health Organisation experts any access.

This time Beijing has locked down some 41 million people in several cities, closing roads and suspending rail and flight routes to contain the virus.

But Tom Solomon, a professor at the University of Liverpool, warned that quarantine could be "counter-productive".

"It can increase the level of panic, and just cause people to flee by other means," he said.

It is necessary to limit not only the spread of the virus, but also the fear it provokes, according to Rania MacIntyre, head of the Biosecurity Research Program at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales.

"Health authorities need to find the balance between providing transparent information to the community without causing panic," she said.

Kamradt-Scott said it was incumbent on authorities to effectively "counter conspiracy theories and rumours".

Communication by authorities was poor during the last global pandemic scare, of avian flu in 2009, said Vignaud.

"The World Health Organization went straight away to the maximum alert level," thus causing panic, he said.

- What does history tell us? -

For Vignaud, the fear of epidemics spans much of our history.

"What comes to mind most is the plague" that spread periodically through Europe in the Middle Ages, he said.

Franco-Croat historian Mirko Grmek last century came up with the theory of pathocenosis -- that each epoch of human history will have diseases that fit their particular context.

Vignaud said this includes economic, political and social conditions, as well as those diseases perceived to be the most dangerous.

He gave the examples of cholera and tuberculosis in the 19th Century, which were helped to spread by the water pollution, overcrowding and lack of cleanliness that came with rapid urbanisation.

The modern-day fear of a pandemic -- a truly global killer -- stems from globalisation, according to Vignaud.

"The good side of it is you can take a plane and in a few hours time be anywhere on the planet," he said.

"The flip side is that the virus can now travel with you."

- What role does media play? -

"The media has a crucial responsibility to ensure that only accurate, factual information is reported, and needs to refrain as much as possible from speculation and hyperbole in these types of events," said Kamradt-Scott.

But the nature of 24-hour news cycles could nevertheless stoke fears with blanket coverage of what ultimately has only affected a few hundred people worldwide thus far, according to Senanayake.

"They need to keep reporting it till they feel that the outbreak is under control and no longer newsworthy," he said.

"With this outbreak, because it is in its infancy, I think it is reasonable for the media to keep updating the public as new information comes to light."

From temples to Disneyland, China shuts down to halt virus
Beijing (AFP) Jan 24, 2020 - China has quarantined cities and shut major tourist attractions from Disneyland to the Forbidden City and a section of the Great Wall as it scrambles to stop a deadly SARS-like virus from spreading further.

The drastic moves come as hundreds of millions of people criss-crossed the country in recent days to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, which officially started Friday and is typically a joyous time of gatherings and public celebration.

Here is a rundown of the measures taken so far in an unprecedented quarantine effort:

- Cities under lockdown -

Public transport has been stopped in 13 cities in central Hubei province, with train stations shut, events cancelled and theatres, libraries and karaoke bars closed in some locations.

The epicentre of the outbreak is provincial capital Wuhan, the biggest city on lockdown, where the government has halted all travel out of the Yangtze River metropolis of 11 million.

Wuhan residents have been told to stay home and authorities are limiting the number of taxis allowed on roads. There are few flights available to the city, deepening the isolation.

Similar quarantine measures are being taken in the other, smaller cities. These include strict controls on weddings and funerals, temperature screening of people as they arrive and the suspension of online taxi services.

More than 41 million people in total are affected by the city shutdowns.

- Festivities cancelled -

Wuhan and Beijing have cancelled public events that usually attract hundreds of thousands of people to temples during the New Year holiday.

Gao Fu, head of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has asked China's 1.4 billion citizens to forego New Year gatherings and confine themselves at home until all is clear.

To discourage nationwide travel, the government also said all tickets for rail, air, road, or water transport could be refunded.

- Attractions closed -

The historic Forbidden City, a sprawling imperial palace in Beijing that is one of the country's most revered cultural sites, will temporarily close from Saturday.

Other famous landmarks including a section of the Great Wall, the Ming Tombs and Yinshan Pagoda are also not open to visitors.

Shanghai Disneyland said it would shut for an indefinite period "to ensure the health and safety of our guests and cast".

Women's Olympics football qualifiers scheduled for February 3-9 in Wuhan have been moved to the eastern city of Nanjing.

- Temperature checks -

Staff in full body protective suits were seen checking the temperatures of people entering a subway station in Beijing on Friday.

The country has ordered sterilisation and ventilation at airports and bus stations, as well as inside planes and trains, while travellers are being screened for fever.

Health authorities are urging people to wash their hands regularly, avoid crowded places, get plenty of fresh air and wear a mask if they have a cough.

In Wuhan, city authorities have made it mandatory to wear a mask in public places.

In response to skyrocketing demand for masks -- starting to sell out at pharmacies and on some popular websites -- China's industry and information technology ministry said it would "spare no effort in increasing supply".

- A new hospital -

In Wuhan, authorities are rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days as a rising number of patients are infected by the new coronavirus.

The facility is expected to be in use by February 3 and will have a capacity of 1,000 beds spread over 25,000 square metres, according to state media.

Dozens of excavators and trucks were filmed working on the site by state broadcaster CCTV.

Its construction began after reports surfaced of bed shortages in hospitals designated as dealing with the outbreak, which has now infected 830 people across China.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

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China rushes to build new hospital for virus within 10 days
Beijing (AFP) Jan 24, 2020
China is rushing to build a new hospital in a staggering 10 days to treat patients at the epicentre of a deadly virus outbreak that has stricken hundreds of people, state media reported Friday. The facility in the central city of Wuhan is expected to be in use by February 3 to serve a rising number of patients infected by a coronavirus that has left at least 26 people dead and millions on lockdown in an effort to curb its spread. Dozens of excavators and trucks were filmed working on the site by ... read more