Patient zero is generally taken to mean the first case in a disease outbreak – but the term is often applied in different ways. When it comes to z

Câu hỏi :

Patient zero is generally taken to mean the first case in a disease outbreak – but the term is often applied in different ways. When it comes to zoonotic diseases (ones that jump from animals to humans, like SARS-CoV-2), patient zero might refer to the first-ever human case – the point at which the virus spills over from an animal to a human. For the general public, however, patient zero is often used to refer to the first case in a particular region, or the first case that's come to the attention of health authorities. However, these are not always the same thing. Sometimes the first case that's notified to us is not the first case in an outbreak. Similarly, just because someone is identified as the first case doesn't mean they spread the disease to anyone else, or behaved irresponsibly – with something like coronavirus, they may not even know they're sick.