So, why exactly are people reaching back into the archives to stream the movie? It’s likely because the coronavirus that we’re hearing about sounds scarily similar to the fictional MEV-1 that the experts in Contagion were battling. In the film, MEV-1 has the genetic material of pig and bat viruses are transmitted to Paltrow’s character after she shakes hands with a chef who touched a pig infected with the disease. In real life, the coronavirus has been traced to a group of people who visited a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Additionally, the fictional MEV-1 and the coronavirus share similar symptoms; warning signs of the illnesses include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.