Let's take an example from the most famous virus in history. The Black Plague. Here's an example of what things were like then. Marchione di Coppo Stefani was a writer born in Florence in 1336. He wrote this Florentine Chronicle in the late 1370s and early 1380s.
People fail to realize that most viruses can be prevented or safely removed.
This is no accident. The sources people use for viral information are frequently the closest rather than the most reliable. Here's a quote from a web page devoted to accurate viral reporting written by Rob Rosenberger. A recognized expert on viruses . I once lectured about viruses to a small group of businessmen in 1991.