There is a very strange outbreak at the festival – people are turning into llamas! Luckily there is a crack team on the case, but they need your help. Find a llama, play the game, share your diagnosis data and help the task force to stop the spread of the infection.
Llama Outbreak! is a live game about the spread of infectious diseases that was first presented at Green Man 2016. The project was developed by Einstein’s Garden in collaboration with scientists from UCL.
On encountering a llama around the festival site, people were directed to the Llama Outbreak Control Unit to take a diagnostic test, upload the results to a mobile phone app and contribute their data to help understand the bizarre outbreak and map the spread of the infection.
Those with a positive test result underwent a llama transformation while chatting to scientists about their research including the ethics of sharing health data and finding out about the amazing llama nanobodies (special antibody fragments) used in rapid diagnostic tests.
We were number 10,034 to be infected and they’re just the people that they know of. They explained how the test worked, it was really cool, they made it really interactive
– Llama Outbreak audience member, Green Man 2016
The newly contagious llamas spread the infection by pegging llama tails (socks) on other unsuspecting festival-goers. The task force tracked the spread and luckily, once enough data had been gathered the llama outbreak was finally contained.
I think it’s a really interesting way for people to get involved and see how easily outbreaks are spread, I don’t think people understand, I was sitting watching a band and next minute I turned round and a sock is attached to me
– Llama Outbreak! audience member, Green Man 2016
Llama Outbreak! was supported by the Wellcome Trust, as part of a three-year award experimenting with new approaches to creative science engagement. It was first presented in Einstein’s Garden at Green Man 2016.
Llama Outbreak! was produced by Einstein’s Garden in collaboration with UCL scientists, fanSHEN and designer Naomi Kuyck-Cohen.
