WNYC's Radiolab
Patient Zero
The great mysteries all have a shadowy figure that sets things in motion and holds the key to how the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this character is called Patient Zero.
By Jad Abumrad • • 1 min readThe greatest mysteries all have a shadowy figure at the center-someone who sets things in motion and holds the key to how the rest of the story unfolds. In epidemiology, this central character is known as Patient Zero-the case at the heart of an outbreak. This hour, we hunt for Patient Zeroes from all over the map-from the origins of a blues legend, to the history of the high five, to a race to halt the spread of a deadly disease.
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