History Main / ContaminationSituation

* In ''Literature/AuntDimity and the Lost Prince'', Lady Barbara Booker relates how her childhood friend left his stuffed bear at her house the day before he came down with polio (this was in the 1920s, decades before any vaccine). She innocently tried to visit Mikhail to return the bear, and her father "went spare" and gave her a severe spanking. Although she was kept informed of his progress in recovery, "Basha" and "Misha" did not see one another again until Lori ad Bree's investigation prompted Barbara to pay an unannounced visit to Mikhail's family home.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'': In one two-part episode, Castle is exposed to a toxin after shadowing Beckett on a case in D.C. The two had recently become engaged, so the shipping aspect was there, but it mostly served to allow him to work with her despite no longer being under Mayor Welton's discretion (Well, he's dying anyway, might as well let him feel useful).

* In ''Film/{{Outbreak}}'', Robby Keough and Casey Schuler both contract the deadly Motaba virus. [[spoiler:Robby lives long enough to get the cure. Unfortunately, Casey does not.]]

* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "[[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS1E6FZZT F.Z.Z.T.]]", Simmons is infected with a virus carried by Loki's soldiers that will eventually cause her to explode, taking the entire plane (and all the other characters) down with her. After apparently failing to develop an anti-serum, she [[spoiler:jumps from the plane, in what is intended to be a HeroicSacrifice]].

* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E21BloodDiamonds Blood Diamonds]]" had Trivette assuming the identity of a diamond smuggler named Joseph Ileka after he is killed by a pimp following a one-night stand with a prostitute named Sparkle in order for him and Walker to catch an arms dealer, [[spoiler:only for them to eventually perish after the dealer caught on to their cover]]. After Ileka was killed, the medical examiner's office reveals he had an Ebola virus that's 90% fatal and spreads like wildfire, likely to kill thousands if it wasn't contained right away. Before coming to Dallas, he likely contracted it at his native Uganda before letting it spread to Europe. Sparkle and her pimp both contracted the virus from Ileka, and after Gage, Sydney and Alex question Sparkle after she is arrested by the former two, she begins exhibiting the early symptoms upon which they fear they have been infected, too; Alex, most especially, due to her and Walker's unborn baby. The two Rangers and the Assistant DA luckily come out negative, and [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse while it's unknown of what happened to Sparkle]], her pimp wasn't so lucky (though instead of the virus, Gage and Sydney killed him before he could be arrested during a bar brawl) and everyone he and Ileka came into contact with was quarantined, which made Walker decide he and Trivette had to take down the diamond smuggler's superiors right away. [[spoiler:Luckily, after Walker and Trivette are both killed by the arms dealer, the [[DreamEpisode entire episode]] was {{all just a|dream}} {{nightmare|sequence}} Alex had, but it may come to pass anyway, since [[OrWasItADream Walker and Trivette were actually on the case from that nightmare]].]]

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[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rco001_1583410946.png]]]]

-->-- ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', "S.W.A.K."

* ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'': During the ''ComicBook/BatmanContagion'' story line ComicBook/{{Robin}} was infected with the Apocalypse Virus ravaging Gotham and spent a couple ''ComicBook/Robin1993'' issues hallucinating while slowly dying of it in the Batcave while Alfred watched over him and the rest of the Batclan tried to find a cure while preventing Gotham from tearing itself apart.

* In ''Film/Contagion2011'', Matt Damon's character is infected with a virus, but is immune to it. Later on, one of the main characters has been infected with a virus and uses this to test the cure. Another main character dies from it.
* In ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth'', Vincent Price is the only person left and is immune to the virus turning people into vampires, but does have the virus.
* In ''Film/IAmLegend'', the dog is infected with a virus that turns her into one of the mutants. Robert Neville has to kill his dog.

* In ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' the mysterious sickness gets both the pilot and copilot.
* In the film ''Film/{{Outbreak}}'', Rene Russo and Kevin Spacey's characters both contract the deadly Motaba virus. One of them lives long enough to get the cure. It is, unfortunately, not Kevin Spacey.
* This is extraordinarily common in zombie movies, and not just to people who [[ZombieInfectee refuse to tell anyone]]. Perhaps the ur-example is Roger in ''Film/DawnOfTheDead1978'' (Karen Cooper was in a similar condition in ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', but in that example, neither the audience nor the characters knew that a bite always means death). Roger's infection leads to a poignant moment in which he promises to "try...not to...come back."

* ''Literature/EarthAnd'': ''Earth and Air'' sees the [[EarthThatUsedToBeBetter New York dig sites]] hit by a radiation spike, resulting in everyone there being evacuated and quarantined.

* ''Series/{{House}}'' had three: "Euphoria" in season two, where Foreman is infected from a patient, "Airborne" in season three, where House and Cuddy are on a plane with someone who is suspected to have meningitis, and Cuddy thinks she has it, and "A Pox on Our House" in season seven, where House is exposed to an contagious patient.
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' had one in season one ([[ChristmasEpisode "The Man in the Fallout Shelter"]]). The entire team is exposed to an infectious body.

* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' did theirs in season two. Peter contracts a virus at a crime scene. He almost sneaks through the screening test by swapping his cheek swab for Olivia's clean one but as he's about to leave she notices he's bleeding from the nose (the first symptom of infection) and the doors are shut in his face.
** In an episode in season one, Charlie becomes an incubator for a supernatural creature.
* In ''Series/TwentyFour'', after Jack contracts a pathogen from a bio-weapon, the entire second half of the seventh season is a string of contamination episodes.
* The penultimate episode of the second season of ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', "SWAK", centered around Tony and Kate's exposure to the pneumonic plague, which was sent to the team in an envelope.

* In the season four episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'', "Death is in the Air", a deadly virus is stolen and released on a public place, Shawn then discovers that it's part of a PoisonAndCureGambit from the company that makes the cure for the virus, as it was about to be closed down because the government didn't think the virus was a threat enough to fund the cure. The culprit ends up dying before he can release more of the virus, since the cure dosage needed was more than he'd anticipated. Then Juliet gets infected with the virus when recovering the last batch, so they have to race to the culprit's hiding place to acquire the supply of the cure before she succumbs.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Sliders}}'', one of Quinn's friends gets the plague.
** Another episode had the Quinn of that world as the carrier of a disease for which there is no cure, as this world had never discovered antibiotics like penicillin. Arturo contracts the disease, but is able to create an antidote for it.
* In ''Series/{{Helix}},'' the series begins in the immediate aftermath of Dr. Peter Farragut's infection with a SyntheticPlague, turning him into PatientZero and the ensemble's TragicMonster, a carrier of TheVirus who spreads it throughout the ResearchInc where he works. The CDC rapid response team includes his brother Alan and his ex-lover Julia, both of whom want to see him saved despite interpersonal tensions and shared estrangement. Peter soon infects Julia, and she in turn, has to cope with realizing her fate and being the sole CDC member in quarantine with other infected.
* ''{{Series/Emergency}}'' had one. John Gage and Dr. Brackett are both infected with a deadly monkey-transmitted flu. Another fireman dies, but the discovery of a person who fought off the virus saves the main characters.
* On ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'', in the November sweeps episode "F.Z.Z.T.", Simmons is infected with a virus carried by Loki's soldiers that will eventually cause her to explode, taking the entire plane (and all the other characters) down with her. After apparently failing to develop an anti-serum, she [[spoiler:jumps from the plane in, what is intended to be a HeroicSacrifice.]]
* The first few episodes of the fourth season of ''Series/TheWalkingDead2010'' have a deadly flu epidemic in the prison. Glenn and Sasha are among the characters infected, and Hershel is in the quarantine cell block tending to the sick. The ZombieApocalypse adds another complication, as if those who die from the epidemic aren't [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain dealt with]], they come back, and not in the good way. It comes to a head in the fifth episode, "Internment," where a bunch of the supporting characters die and Glenn is barely saved.
* In a two-part episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'', he is exposed to a toxin after shadowing Beckett on a case in D.C. The two had recently become engaged, so the shipping aspect was there, but it mostly served to allow him to work with her despite no longer being under Mayor Welton's discretion (Well, he's dying anyway, might as well let him feel useful).
* Used many times in early episodes of ''Series/TheXFiles''.
* Happens to Bernadette in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. The rest of the gang serenade her through the window of the decontamination unit.
* In the ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'' episode "The Plague," both guys are put in quarantine for 72 hours because they interacted with a man who died of the disease. They kill time by playing cards. Hutch turns out to be infected and nearly dies, while Starsky tears the city apart looking for a cure.
* In the ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' episode "Through The Fog", Detective Bell finds an unattended bag at the precinct which starts emitting smoke. He tosses it into an interrogation room, isolates himself in the adjoining room and then orders that the entire building be placed under quarantine. It ultimately turns out that the bag is completely harmless and was part of an elaborate plot to steal the precinct's computer servers. The thief snuck in as part of the decontamination crew and made off with the servers without anyone questioning what he was doing.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', two important characters become fatally infected with Cordyceps. Sam pulls the [[ZombieInfectee usual schtick]]; the other reveals her bite in a bid to guilt Joel into doing what she believes is right.

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'', Fry has a dormant 20th Century strain of the common cold, which had been eradicated centuries earlier. It leads to the entire island of Manhattan being quarantined and then launched to the sun for good measure.

* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'': Season 9's "[[Recap/WalkerTexasRangerS9E21BloodDiamonds Blood Diamonds]]" had Trivette assuming the identity of a diamond smuggler named Joseph Ileka after he is killed by a pimp following a one-night stand with a prostitute named Sparkle in order for him and Walker to catch an arms dealer, [[spoiler:only for them to eventually perish after the dealer caught on to their cover]]. After Ileka was killed, the medical examiner's office reveals he had an Ebola virus that's 90% fatal and spreads like wildfire, likely to kill thousands if it wasn't contained right away. Before coming to Dallas, he likely contracted it at his native Uganda before letting it spread to Europe. Sparkle and her pimp both contracted the virus from Ileka, and after Gage, Sydney and Alex pick up and question Sparkle, she begins exhibiting the early symptoms upon which they fear they have been infected, too; Alex, most especially, due to her and Walker's unborn baby. The two Rangers and the Assistant DA luckily come out negative, and [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse while it's unknown of what happened to Sparkle]], her pimp wasn't so lucky (though instead of the virus, Gage and Sydney killed him before he could be arrested during a bar brawl) and everyone he and Ileka came into contact with was quarantined, which made Walker decide he and Trivette had to take down the diamond smuggler's superiors right away. [[spoiler:Luckily, after Walker and Trivette are both killed by the arms dealer, the [[DreamEpisode entire episode]] was {{all just a|dream}} {{nightmare|sequence}} Alex had, but it may come to pass anyway, since [[OrWasItADream Walker and Trivette were actually on the case from that nightmare]].]]

* In the season four episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}'', "Death is in the Air", a deadly virus is stolen and released on a public place, Shawn then discovers that its part of a PoisonAndCureGambit from the company that makes the cure for the virus, as it was about to be closed down because the government didn't think the virus was a threat enough to fund the cure. The culprit dies before he can release more of the virus, since the cure dosage needed wasn more than he anticipated, but then Juliet gets infected with the virus when recovering the last batch, so they have to race to the culprit's hiding place for the rest of the cure before she succumbs.

* In ''Film/IAmLegend'', the dog is infected with a virus that turns him into one of the mutants. Robert Neville has to kill his dog.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' and [[VideoGames/ResidentEvil3Remake its remake]], Jill Valentine becomes infected with the T-Virus. It makes her so ill that a second character becomes playable, and it is he who finds a cure.

* In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3'', Jill Valentine becomes infected with the T-Virus. It makes her so ill that a second character becomes playable, and it is he who finds a cure.

->'''Tony''': If I get anthrax, how will you feel?\\
'''Gibbs''': Not as bad as you, Di Nozzo.

* On ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'', after Jack contracts a pathogen from a bio-weapon, the entire second half of the seventh season is a string of contamination episodes.

* In the late season four episode "Amplification" of ''Series/CriminalMinds'', Reid is exposed to anthrax by a serial killer.

* The first few episodes of the fourth season of ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' have a deadly flu epidemic in the prison. Glenn and Sasha are among the characters infected, and Hershel is in the quarantine cell block tending to the sick. The ZombieApocalypse adds another complication, as if those who die from the epidemic aren't [[RemovingTheHeadOrDestroyingTheBrain dealt with]], they come back, and not in the good way. It comes to a head in the fifth episode, "Internment," where a bunch of the supporting characters die and Glenn is barely saved.

* In ''Film/{{Contagion}}'', Matt Damon's character is infected with a virus, but is immune to it. Later on, one of the main characters has been infected with a virus and uses this to test the cure. Another main character dies from it.