Killer Outbreaks

The Center for Disease Control (CDC), the New York Police Department (NYPD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team up to respond to the threat of New York City's first biological attack since 2001: anthrax. The CDC detects a mysterious illness that is targeting young girls across the country and bringing them to the brink of death.

Three organ recipients come down with a mysterious illness. After all three patients die, an investigation by the Center for Disease Control finds that the organ donor had rabies. Also in the program, an illness characterized by skin lesions and high fever spreads throughout the Midwest. Doctors find the disease to be monkeypox, a relative of smallpox that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

In New York City, several people fall ill with a mysterious virus. Doctors believe that the virus is spread by mosquitoes. The Center for Disease Control eventually identifies the illness as West Nile virus, a virus spread by mosquitoes to humans and birds. Also in the program, a Navajo community in New Mexico is stricken with a virus characterized by fluid in the lungs. After an investigation, the CDC finds the virus to be the hantavirus, a pathogen spread by rodents.

After a large earthquake rattles Los Angeles, many people become ill with flu-like symptoms. Doctors first believe that the patients have meningitis, but tests reveal the outbreak to be valley fever. Valley fever is caused by a fungus that normally lies dormant in the ground. Once in the body, the fungus can affect the brain, and requires painful treatment. Also in the program, millions of eggs are recalled after they are linked to a salmonella outbreak across the United States. Investigators are concerned when they find that the salmonella is in the egg rather than on the shell.

A soldier wounded in Iraq and a pregnant woman in Louisiana are overcome by a strange infection. Doctors discover that they are both infected with Acinetobacter baumannii, a mutating bacteria. Also known as iraqibacter, Acinetobacter baumannii is prevalent in combat hospitals, and has migrated to hospitals in the United States. Also in the program, two healthy, athletic boys are stricken with a mysterious infection. Tests reveal that both boys are infected with MRSA, a strain of staph bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. As more cases are reported across the country, the CDC fears an epidemic.

In Colorado, several men fall ill and die within a matter of hours. Tests reveal that the devastating illness is meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection with a high mortality rate. The horrific disease kills several healthy and athletic people, but is ultimately contained after the state health department offers mass vaccinations. Also in the program, an elderly Chinese woman is admitted to the emergency room with pneumonia-like symptoms. She becomes the first case of SARS in the United States. SARS is a deadly respiratory virus originating in China. After spreading across the globe, SARS disappears as quickly as it arrived.