Quarantine
Disinfecting Hainan University
Hainan University, in Southern China, is currently under lock and key. The entire campus has been quarantined due to an outbreak of Cholera. The actions are something you would expect from your usual dystopic sci-fi fare but the net result is a terrifying twist on many of our jaded stereotypes, and its still ongoing. At least one student from within the quarantined campus has been blogging her thoughts and experiences fairly frequently. It’s chilling to read, and not in the pleasant “oh its a bit late, put on something scary” way.
There is no news about Jiajia. I heard that she asked someone to bring food to her. When Yuanyuan told us that, we reflected on how terrible it is to be under quarantine without food. But at least we figured that Jiajia was not in big trouble. She was not going without food, but we cannot imagine what it was like inside. There are many rumors now. When we speak about cholera, our expressions change a bit first.
It was raining periodically during the day. Someone said that cholera broke out because the heavy rains earlier flushed out the stuff from the drainage pipes. Someone said that the cafeteria bought some dead fish. Some said that we will be held here for one month. Someone said that other epidemics have broken out … the dark clouds in the sky slowly dissipate and drop into our hearts.
io9 caught it and posted, but things being what they are this hasn’t really garnered much news attention. I’m sure if the same circumstance were repeated in the US, it would have been immediately all over the media.
My heart goes out to the students of Hainan U; may their ordeal be over soon.
These kinds of stories make me cringe with fear of the next pandemic. The last major outbreak we had in the U.S. was the Spanish flu back in 1818, which was estimated to have killed 20 to 100 million of people world-wide. That could equate to one third of the population of Europe!
When I first heard of the bird flu, I thought we were going to see the start of something. Maybe we have been lucky with our pill popping societies…or maybe we are on the verge of a major epidemic release…or I have been watching too much “Heroes!”
Either way, I thought cholera was long gone as far as outbreaks go. Poor kids.
correction 1918! typo!