MovieChat Forums > Code Black (2015) Discussion > Patient Zero (Spoiler 2/1/17 episode)

Patient Zero (Spoiler 2/1/17 episode)


Ok in the latest episode they had an outbreak of a deadly virus (one they called Hemorrhagic Fever). Also according to this episode the virus kills in 48 hours since infection, sometimes less. However at the end of the episode it shows a man walking out of his house and picking up a ball for a little kid. Right after that it shows that he's patient zero and was exposed 41 hours prior. How can he be patient zero if the first girl they brought into the er with it is already dead and had the virus for 48 hours. If he really was patient zero wouldn't he already be dead?

reply

[deleted]

it said at the end of the episode that he was 41 hours since exposure

reply

Which brings up the question of how could he be Patient Zero if the dead girl had been exposed 48+ hours by that time (and was dead).

reply

[deleted]

That's not the problem. The problem is how could he have been patient zero if she was exposed before him?

reply

Patient Zero doesn't mean they are sick with the virus, it means they are the carrier of the virus.

reply

Patient Zero means he's the initial carrier of the diseased population. There is no way to square the timeline presented unless the 41 hours mark with him passing the ball to the kid was 7 hours before his girlfriend's death. That is, the last scene was a flashback in time.

It seems like some here are misunderstanding the question. If she dies at 48 hours and we're watching him at 41 hours, we're either watching a flashback or he is not Patient Zero (she would be). Even if you want to explain the timeline issue away by claiming it was somehow dormant in his system before becoming symptomatic, the header stated 41 hours since *exposure*.

reply

Patient Zero means he's the initial carrier of the diseased population.


No it means he is the carrier of the virus; it doesn't mean that he is sick or part of a 'diseased' population. He could be a carrier of the virus because of being a survivor of a previous outbreak. Look up the epidemiology of the Ebola Virus, which is very similar to what was described last night.

As I said in another post:

Being patient zero doesn't mean that he is sick with the virus, he could just be a carrier of the virus. One of the reasons that Ebola has reared its ugly head so many times is that the virus can lay dormant in survivors of the virus and then can be spread at a later time.

Two of the {new} outbreaks of Ebola were sexually transmitted. The Ebola virus can lay dormant in the human testes for up to a year.

Since the synopsis for next week says that the CDC and the hospital staff work to find a cure, I am sure they are going to tie this to being an Ebola type disease, which is a hemorrhagic disease.


From the standpoint of the CDC Patient Zero is the source of the virus, the carrier, not necessarily the first person to become infected and show symptoms; that would be patient one.

reply

You are quoting me, saying the same thing as me, and then stating that I am wrong.

I never said being Patient Zero means he is sick. It means he is the initial carrier of the diseased population. We are saying the same thing--Patient Zero is the source of the virus.

It doesn't matter if it lays dormant. The description did not say, "41 hours from onset of symptoms" it stated "41 hours from exposure." By definition, that 41 hour timeline must be earlier from his girlfriend's death so, like I correctly stated the first time, we are either looking at a flashback or a continuity error.

If he was exposed to the virus 1/1/2017 at 12am, we are watching him hand the ball to the boy 41 hours later. No one is claiming that he is going to die in 7 hours, which is the point you seem to be confused in addressing. The issue is that under no circumstances could the girl who died first been exposed to the virus prior to 1/1/2017 at 12am or she would be Patient Zero, but we know she died 48 hours after exposure.

Using that example timeline, we are watching events unfold in the hospital no sooner than 48 hours after 1/1/2017 12am *or* the description should have said "41 hours since onset of symptoms." If it had said that, although it did not, then it would match your example of dormant Ebola.

Also, you seem to not understand what a CDC classifies as a diseased population. It is not symptomatic populations. I suggest you clarify for yourself some of these facts before attempting to correct me again, especially when you merely reiterate what I already wrote and then incorrectly assess my points as false. That is one of the most bizarre ways to try and communicate.


reply

so, let me guess,you must work for the CDC since it seems like you know everything

reply

Right, but in order to be the carrier who exposed her he would have to have been exposed before her. She was exposed at least 8 hours before him. It was actually even longer than that but we don't know how much time elapsed between her death and seeing him.

reply

[deleted]

the reason why heather died a lot quicker than the others is because when the girl bit her, the disease went straight into heather's blood stream which would affect her more rapidly than the rest

reply

patient zero started to show symptoms 41 hours prior to the audience sees him.... yet he could have had it the disease in him for longer than that without showing any symptoms.... he knows what is going on and where it came from.... he is the key to everything

reply

This is incorrect.

The description stated "41 hours from exposure.

It's true he might have only been symptomatic for an hour or so but he could not have been carrying the disease longer than 41 hours based on that description. That's the source of the thread starter's confusion. If the description had stated, "41 hours from symptoms" you'd be correct and desertdude's points would be relevant.

The most likely explanation is that we are witnessing Patient Zero pass the ball to the boy roughly seven hours before the first patient died (a flashback). It's only confusing since they showed it out of sequence (Patient Zero's behavior at the end of the episode even though it chronologically occurred before Patient One died in the hospital).

This is loosely supported by the CDC's actions toward the end of the episode. It seems they have an idea of what they are dealing with and the seriousness of the situation, presumably because other outbreaks are occurring around the US and hospitals. They also already know Patient One's boyfriend is the vector based on her friend's statement and the fact the doctors saw a man flee the scene when they were first responding. The CDC should already be at his door but we see him walking around suggesting they haven't caught up to him yet because it's in the past.

reply

the guy knows what is going on and where it came from... he is the one that bolted from the store when he heard willis asking if there was anyone there.... he thought that willis was the police not a doctor.... so he would have already been exposed to it before his girlfriend was....it may depend on the body type and symptoms.... it may take more than 48 hours to truly affected him.... he started showing symptoms 41 hours ago, yet it doesn't mean that it was not in his system for longer.... think about it like the flu, most people don't realize that they have the flu until about 48 hours when the symptoms show up.... so how does the CDC and the doctors know really how long the exposure is.... they are going by when the symptoms became apparent like when the patient noticed the fever and the chills....

reply

The CDC doesn't know and the doctors don't know. The directors of the show, the narrators, told us that he was exposed 41 hours ago. Yes, it could be in his system for however long before showing symptoms but that's not what we are talking about here. Based on his symptoms he's only been symptomatic for a few hours when we see him hand the ball to the boy (sniffling, for example).

Perhaps you missed it. I suggest you go re-watch the last two minutes of the episode. When, or if (depends on if you're more concerned with winning some argument or getting the facts straight so you can be more informed about the discussion), you re-watch that segment you'll notice in the top corner of the screen a narration point: "Patient Zero, Exposed 41 hours"

reply

what do you think i did right before i posted the fact of 41 hours....

reply

If you actually watched it, how could you possibly have missed the description stated 41 hours since exposure?

reply

you do realized that they used the patient's name and exposure time throughout the whole show...

reply

The CDC doesn't know and the doctors don't know. The directors of the show, the narrators, told us that he was exposed 41 hours ago. Yes, it could be in his system for however long before showing symptoms but that's not what we are talking about here. Based on his symptoms he's only been symptomatic for a few hours when we see him hand the ball to the boy (sniffling, for example).

Perhaps you missed it. I suggest you go re-watch the last two minutes of the episode. When, or if (depends on if you're more concerned with winning some argument or getting the facts straight so you can be more informed about the discussion), you re-watch that segment you'll notice in the top corner of the screen a narration point: "Patient Zero, Exposed 41 hours"

reply

I'm not saying he's sick. I'm saying how could he be patient zero, the first one exposed, if it has been 41 hours since his exposure but yet there have been two people who had been exposed for 48 hours at that point.

reply

It's a flashback. When we see Patient Zero at 41 hours post-exposure, that is at least 7 hours before Patient One dies in the hospital. It's confusing since they show us that clip in the end of the show, but presumably there are other hospitals fielding outbreaks. The CDC comes in at the end completely different demeanor than the initial deployed team. At that point they seem to have a better idea of what's going on and the entire hospital is being shut down.

reply

That makes it clearer now. I guess they just had it there for suspense?

reply

they started the timeline when the symptoms began to show not when the actual exposure.... we know that patient zero was connected to the first girl that came in.... also remember, he was the one that bolted when he heard willis calling out for anyone so he must know what it is and where it came from.... which is possible that he may have been exposed to it gradually over time

reply

Also 48 hrs was the average time it takes to kill you. Just because she died first doesn't mean she was exposed first or longest.

reply

By definition, unless she is Patient Zero, she has been exposed less time to the virus than Patient Zero.
Therefore, if we see her dying 48 hours post exposure and we see Patient Zero 41 hours post exposure, we are either looking at a flashback or a continuity error.

reply

I know. I'm saying I don't remember them saying she was exposed 48 hours before she died. They said the average time was 48 hours.

reply

When she was coding it said 49:24:16 since exposure on screen.

reply

Being patient zero doesn't mean that he is sick with the virus, he could just be a carrier of the virus. One of the reasons that Ebola has reared its ugly head so many times is that the virus can lay dormant in survivors of the virus and then can be spread at a later time.

Two of the outbreaks of Ebola were sexually transmitted. The Ebola virus can lay dormant in the human testes for up to a year.

Since the synopsis for next week says that the CDC and the hospital staff work to find a cure, I am sure they are going to tie this to being an Ebola type disease, which is a hemorrhagic disease.

reply

[deleted]

It appears that that last scene is a flashback, gathering info from what other posters have said. But yeah, it is rather confusing.

reply

then if it was flashback.... we don't know how long that flashback was, it doesn't give an actual date

reply

Well...Patient One (Yolanda) died at like 49 hours after her exposure, meaning the scene takes place at least eight hours before she died, probably more because of the time that passed after her death. The placement of the scene, while good for suspense, was pretty crappy in the coherency/chronology of the episode.

reply