American author Dean Koontz's The Eyes of Darkness published in 1981 is currently one of the most read books, courtesy its main point "Wuhan – 400 virus". In the book, Koontz speaks of a virus (named Wuhan – 400) that is developed in a Chinese city called Wuhan is spread to the world with an intention of wiping out a city or a country without expensive decontamination.
As Wuhan in China is identified as the birthplace of Coronavirus, people started spreading the news that Koontz had predicted the Coronavirus outbreak in 1981 itself. This resulted in a surge of the sale of his book The Eyes of Darkness that is currently No 3 most sold book (after Alex North's The Whisper Man and Hilary Mantel's The Mirror and the Light) on Amazon in the March first week sale record.
Interestingly, social media users have identified and highlighted some parts of the book trying to connect it to 2020 Wuhan virus (COVID-19).
Difference between Wuhan 400 and Coronavirus
If looked at it closely, according to the book, Wuhan 400 can be fatal within 12 hours of getting affected by it. But in reality, it takes days or weeks for the coronavirus to even start showing symptoms. Another factor in the book says that the virus 'literally eats away brain tissue like battery acid dissolving cheesecloth.'
But symptoms of coronavirus are fever, cough and breathlessness. While the book states the mortality rate as 100 percent, recent treatments have reduced the mortality rate among coronavirus affected to around 3 percent.
