I have OCD and am terrified of serious illness, so this is exactly the kind of thing that scares me most.
That said, when I think logically, I am not too concerned about this one, yet. Yes, it's naturally frightening when a new disease emerges. But remember SARS back in 2003, when we thought it would scour the globe and kill millions? In the end, less than a thousand people died.
Heck, remember the Swine Flu in 2009? Again, a novel virus emerged, caused some deaths, spread globally, and there was rampant fear of a devastating pandemic, but it turned out to overall be a rather moderate illness.
So far there have been 17 deaths out of 633 confirmed cases, but a lot of those deaths were among the elderly or those with underlying health problems, and it's possible that only the more severe cases are even seeking help and being caught, and that the actual mortality rate is no higher than the regular seasonal flu.
Also, this time the outbreak has been caught earlier than SARS, and quarantines are being put in place.
I'd say there's no call to panic just yet.
Last edited by curl-6 - on 23 January 2020
