New Zealand doctor Lance O'Sullivan fears the spread of hysteria over the deadly coronovirus, saying the answer to outbreaks like this one is better vaccination programmes.
At least 17 people are dead and more than 500 infected in China alone, as the virus spreads from Wuhan to other provinces and countries.
New Zealanders visiting relatives in China are now trapped in Wuhan with the city in lockdown.
Public transport in the Chinese mega-city has been suspended. And the World Health Organisation is expected to make an announcement tomorrow on whether it will declare an international health emergency, after deciding it needs more time to assess the situation.
"It's not uncommon to see people in China wearing masks… but what was quite stark was going into the shops yesterday and people were lining up purchasing all these new masks. So it's a big deal here," Dr O'Sullivan said.
He told Checkpoint he had been asked to wear a mask but is not.
"I don't want to seem casual or laissez-faire about it but I feel pretty okay for a few reasons… We're staying in pretty good places in China, and [practicing] good hygiene and avoiding those congested areas – I feel pretty confident.
"If we look at the numbers, 500 cases plus since December, it seems like a lot but we're talking about a country 1.4 billion, so I think it needs to be taken in context.
"I probably have more chance of getting measles in Auckland than I do of getting coronavirus in Shenzen."
Viral pandemics like the coronavirus could be avoided with good vaccination strategies, Dr O'Sullivan said.
"If we had a vaccine that was ready to go but just needed to be customised for a coronavirus like this and could be done within a few weeks to a month, we could be not so worried globally about these pandemics."
In China the access to antibiotics is "incredible", Dr O'Sullivan said.
Through conversations there he said he has heard of people going the chemist to buy a month's supply of amoxicillin.
People buy such antibiotics thinking they will starve off any viral infection, "which is completely false," he said.
"If I was to be really frank, I think there's a lot of hysteria being brought about on this particular issue.
"I might be forced to eat my words in time but I sometimes think we're missing the bigger picture, the more important question… We're just bouncing from pillar to post every five to ten years. How do we prevent these pandemics?
"There's a whole lot of strategy, public health initiatives, better control over medications – and China is a really good example where it doesn't happen – and my old favourite, vaccination programmes."
