Scientists refute rumors about "pandemic cycles".

Scientists advise the public to be cautious about information related to the pandemic spreading on social media because conspiracy theories about the pandemic can easily cause panic and distort scientific understanding.

A video circulating on social media in Indonesia is drawing attention for claiming that the world experiences viral outbreaks or pandemics every six years, even suggesting that these outbreaks are "deliberately orchestrated."

According to the VNA correspondent in Jakarta, the video posted on Instagram lists a series of major epidemics such as SARS in 2002, swine flu in 2008, Ebola in 2014, COVID-19 in 2020, and Hanta virus in 2026 to demonstrate the aforementioned "cycle".

However, epidemiologists assert that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that pandemics always occur at fixed intervals of 6 years.

According to epidemiologist Dicky Budiman of Griffith University, scientists estimate that there are approximately 1.6 million types of viruses in nature, and about 800,000 of them have the potential to cause epidemics in humans. However, humans have only thoroughly studied a very small fraction of these.

He stated that the history of modern pandemics shows that the intervals between outbreaks vary greatly: SARS appeared in 2002, H1N1 influenza in 2009, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, and COVID-19 in 2019. In addition, Ebola, Zika, avian flu, and Hanta virus have appeared at different times without any fixed pattern.

According to this expert, the deliberate selection of certain timeframes while ignoring others has created the illusion of a "secret pattern." He emphasized that Ebola was actually discovered in the 1970s, while the Hanta virus has been known since the 1950s-1970s, not as a recent phenomenon.

Experts also warn that humans have a psychological tendency to look for patterns in random events—a phenomenon known as "apophenia," the tendency to see connections even when there is no clear cause-and-effect relationship.

In addition, scientists advise the public to be cautious about information related to the pandemic spreading on social media, as conspiracy theories about pandemics often easily cause panic and distort scientific understanding.

According to historical documents published on the science platform ScienceDirect, infectious diseases have appeared throughout human history, from the Athenian plague of 430 BC to the Justinian plague of 541 and many major outbreaks in modern times.

Experts argue that instead of believing in "pandemic cycles," it is more important to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, virus research, and enhance global health capacity to prevent the risk of future outbreaks.

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(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/gioi-khoa-hoc-bac-tin-don-ve-chu-ky-dai-dich-post1112463.vnp