Coronavirus hits expert Ian Lipkin, as global cases surpass 400,000

The leading authority on infectious diseases, and consultant to 2011 movie Contagion, says if it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone

WHO reports 100,000 new cases have been recorded around the world in the past four days

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As cases in Italy surge again, one of the world’s leading experts in infectious diseases Ian Lipkin confirms he has Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:51am, 25 Mar 2020Updated: 4:11pm, 25 Mar 2020

One of the world’s top infectious disease experts has tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, as global cases surged past 400,000 on Wednesday, after 100,000 were recorded in just the past four days.

Ian Lipkin, director of Columbia University’s Centre for Infection and Immunity, has been a key voice in the US providing information about the disease. Lipkin was also a consultant on the 2011 film Contagion, starring Gywneth Paltrow and Matt Damon, which told the tale of a mysterious killer virus.

Speaking to Fox Business News about the use of blood plasma from recovered patients to treat people with the infection, Lipkin described his experience as “miserable”.

“If it can hit me, it can hit anybody,” he said. “I know where I think I got it but that’s not the same as proving. But it doesn’t matter. This virus can be found all over the United States.”

Ian Lipkin, the world renowned infectious disease expert, has tested positive for Covid-19. Photo: CNN

Lipkin was a key player in the scientific studies into the West Nile virus and the Sars coronavirus. He went to China in January to discuss containment measures for Covid-19.