Hi, Lynne Malcolm here, letting you know about Patient Zero, a new series from ABC Science and Radio National

that tells the stories of disease outbreaks. Each week we'll join the teams who track down the

source of outbreaks, figuring out where they begin, why they happen, and what they can tell us about ourselves.

Along the way, we'll take a closer look at the idea of Patient Zero,

supposedly the case at the start of an outbreak, a thing of pop culture ripped from the world of

science. Join the team as they travel around the world and back in time

to tell the stories of four disease outbreaks

and the people who stood witness to their origins.

To check it out, search for RN Presents Patient Zero

on the ABC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts.

But for now, here's a short preview of what you can expect.

I don't know you, but I'm going to take a guess and say 2020 probably hasn't turned out quite like you expected.

The impact of the pandemic is unprecedented.

There's no precedence for understanding and framing this.

This is a once-in-a-hundred-year type event.

I'm declaring a public health emergency of international concern.

All over the world, we're seeing the devastating impact of this invisible killer.

We're living through a pretty surreal moment in history.

A pandemic, the likes of which the world hasn't seen before, or at least in 100 years.

I got a phone call saying, you've got somebody from Wuhan and they've got fever and cough.

What do you think about this?

And it's all moving so quickly, right?

...