Something's Killing Me Season 2 Episode 3 Outbreak
- TVPG
- August 5, 2018
- 42 min
In Something's Killing Me season 2 episode 3, titled "Outbreak," the show delves into the story of the deadliest outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in American history that occurred in Philadelphia in 1976. The episode takes a deep dive into the illness and its impact on the people who contracted it and the medical professionals who worked tirelessly to contain it.
The episode starts with an introduction to the disease itself, Legionnaires' disease, which is caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila. It primarily affects the lungs and can lead to pneumonia, which can prove fatal in some cases. The disease got its name after an outbreak of the disease occurred in a hotel in Philadelphia in 1976, where many of the people who contracted it had attended a convention of the American Legion.
The show then examines the preparedness of the medical community at the time to handle an outbreak of this nature. When the outbreak first occurred, the symptoms were atypical and ambiguous, making it difficult for doctors to determine what was happening right away. But once they identified the disease, the medical community rallied together to stop it from spreading further.
The show tells the story of some of the first people to contract the disease and their ensuing struggle to get better. It interviews survivors of the outbreak, who relive their experience of being the first patients to suffer from this epidemic. They also highlight the work done by public health officials, who detected the outbreak before anyone even knew it was happening, and the doctors who worked tirelessly to cure the sick and prevent the disease from spreading.
As the episode progresses, we get to know about the investigation that went on at the time. The cause of the outbreak was a mystery, and the CDC was called in to investigate it. The investigative team worked with city officials and interviewed survivors of the disease to try and find the source of the outbreak. In an unprecedented move, the CDC released information about the investigation to the public, which helped raise awareness and prevent more people from getting sick.
The episode culminates with the government taking action to prevent future outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease. They put in place new laws and regulations for building maintenance that were aimed at preventing the kind of conditions that led to the outbreak in Philadelphia from happening again. They also developed a test for the disease, which allowed for quicker diagnoses and better treatment going forward.
Overall, Something's Killing Me season 2 episode 3, titled "Outbreak," offers a compelling look into a significant moment in medical history. The episode tells the story in a documentary style, combining interviews with survivors, doctors, and public health officials with archival footage and photographs. It's a gripping, informative, and ultimately hopeful story about how science and medicine work together to overcome adversity for the betterment of all.