Download the game Plague, Inc. from the Apple App Store (iPhone, iPod, iPad), the Google Play Store (Android), or the Amazon App Store (Android).
Alternatively, you can choose to download and play Infection Bio War, which is similar to Plague, Inc. and which is also available for iOS and Android devices.
If you do not have a compatible mobile device, you can go to Pandemic 2 – Plague Inc Hacked (http://www.hackedonlinegames.com/game/428/pandemic-2-plague-inc) and play a computer version that is very similar to the mobile game.
Play the game! Your goal is to infect the world and destroy humanity. The game offers three levels, but you should play Normal (or Realistic in Pandemic 2) to have the best experience. Play the game once or twice to get a sense of strategy and gauge how well you can spread your pathogen.
Next, play the game again and keep specific notes about your experience including the strategies that you use to successfully spread the pathogen in terms of infectivity, severity, and lethality.
Based on your experience with the game, and your learning to this point in the course, consider the following (given that your typical role in healthcare would be to combat the spread of a pathogen). Write a two- to three-page paper:
What insights did you glean from playing the role of the pathogen in the game?
Characterize the strategies that you used to spread the pathogen. Which were most successful?
Discuss the extent to which the events in the game mimic a real-world epidemic.
Provide two examples of actual diseases that spread beyond the borders of a single country. Describe the success of efforts to contain the diseases.