Microbiologists and Immunologists Helped Create Bacteria Billboard to Promote Contagion Movie

Posted on September 11, 2011

Warner Bros. Pictures Canada teamed up with microbiologists and immunologists to create a unique billboard to promote its Contagion movie, a disease thriller. Penicillin, mold and pigmented bacteria were used to make the creepy billboard installed in an abandoned store-front window in Toronto. Bacteria and fungi were used to make the billboard, but the fictional disease killing people in Contagion is spread by a virus not a bacteria. Take a look:

Kate Winslet's character in the film was based on one of CDC�s real-life virus hunters. New Public Health has an interview here with Barbara Reynolds, Ph.D., CDC Crises Communication Senior Advisor, about Contagion and the spread of fear and panic behavior in the event of an actual global virus outbreak.

The threat of the killer disease is not just science fiction. The SARS outbreak in 2003 could have been much worse. Much credit goes to the infectious disease experts who helped identify and contain the SARS outbreak, such as Carlo Urbani, who was killed by the disease he helped warn the world about.