A Korean TV drama that warned about coronavirus in 2018 has become the fifth-most watched show on Netflix in the UK.
A character in the spy drama My Secret Terrius warned about a flu-like coronavirus with an incubation period of up to 14 days which attacks the lungs and does not have an antidote.
In the subtitled drama, the mutant virus is used as a weapon that can kill nearly 90 per cent of its victims.
Towards the end of episode ten, a character sees a doctor who points out alarming findings.
“We must do more research, but it looks like a mutant coronavirus,” the doctor says, explaining the weapon.
Drawing a parallel with previous viral outbreaks, she says: “MERS, SARS, the common flu. They all fall in the same family with the same gene information. ”
“The coronavirus attacks the respiratory system. During the 2015 MERS epidemic, the mortality rate was over 20 per cent.”
The other character asks the doctor: “But that’s not serious enough to be used as a weapon. Am I wrong?”
The medic replies: “Like I said, this is a mutant virus. Someone tweaked it to increase the mortality rate to almost 90 per cent.
“What’s more serious is that the coronavirus has an incubation period of two to 14 days. This virus was manipulated to attack the lungs directly within just five minutes of being exposed.”
While the 14-day incubation period resembles with what health experts have said about the COVID-19, the 90 per cent death rate is far higher than the real-life figure for the current virus, which is currently around 4.5 per cent and may actually be lower.
Asked about a possible cure, the doctor in the Netflix show says: “There’s no cure or vaccine available at the moment. They’re hard to develop.” The same is true of the coronavirus.
In another eerie parallel, the drama features a health minister showing children how to wash their hands to stop the spread of disease at the gym.
The show was originally broadcast in South Korea between September and November 2018.
All sixteen episodes are available on Netflix and the show has surged up the rankings since people began to notice the similarity.
