Netflix has released a documentary series looking into how the world can be affected in the event of a massive worldwide pandemic. The series was eerily released on the streaming service as the world grapples with the coronavirus outbreak stemming from China.

More than two dozen people have been killed by the new strain of coronavirus and scores more have been diagnosed.



Countries around the world have been on high alert for planes landing from China, however people living in the area described as ground zero have been placed in quarantine and banned from leaving.

But if you want to know the ins and outs about these types of outbreaks, then cast your eyes and ears over Netflix's Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak.

Credit: Netflix

The six episodes look at how the flu spread across the world and killed millions of people, how vaccines work and how the anti-vax movement is preventing herd immunity, and how scientists create cures for viruses.

Scarily, the docuseries says that world needs to be prepared for when, not if, the next massive pandemic spreads.

"After all, it's been over 100 years since the last pandemic, so we're due. But can we beat the clock and prevent widespread damage from one?" the synopsis says.



In the meantime, Chinese authorities are doing all they can to stop the spread of the new form of the coronavirus, which ends up causing respiratory problems in patients, including pneumonia.

Emergency services have been seen transporting a patient inside a sealed plastic tube as a precaution. Health officials have revealed doctors have been getting sick from treating patients, meaning the virus can now be spread human-to-human.

Footage taken shows two workers in Hazmat suits pulling a person out of the back of an ambulance, before taking them towards a hospital.

Li Bin, deputy director of the National Health Commission in China, said that the illness has 'the possibility of viral mutation and further spread of the disease'.



It is believed that animals could be the suspected primary source of the outbreak, with a seafood market selling live animals in Wuhan in Hubei province being identified as ground zero for the virus.