When Tracey McNamara was a veterinarian at the Bronx Zoo, she was part of the team that discovered West Nile Virus. Later, she was tapped as a science advisor for the 2011 movie Contagion. McNamara, now a professor and veterinary pathologist, is one of the reasons that the movie came so close to describing what the world is like today as the COVID-19 illness, caused by a coronavirus, spreads.
“The movie really rang true, and now that we’re dealing with coronavirus, it really captured when you're dealing with something unknown,” McNamara said. “Just like with the West Nile virus, you're going to hear a lot of people making all sorts of proclamations and announcements, and whenever someone says something about a brand-new, previously unknown virus, I think, You should choose your words carefully. You may have to eat them.”
The realism in Contagion is why so many people are seeking out and re-watching the movie now. Read more of what McNamara has to say at Buzzfeed.