The search for Patient Zero of coronavirus — and why it’s so important

Producer | Writer

For The Hill’s Changing America series, I explained the scientific and ethical stakes behind identifying “Patient Zero” in the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak. The piece explores how tracing an index case helps epidemiologists model disease spread, while also raising questions about privacy, stigma, and the limits of contact tracing. Through historical parallels from Typhoid Mary to HIV’s misidentified “Patient Zero,” the story examines how public-health insight and human empathy must coexist in a crisis.

Read & Watch on The Hill