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SARS Contained

Posted by michael on from the black-death-avoided dept.

The World Health Organization has declared that SARS is contained, for now. Toronto has engaged in extensive analysis of the outbreak there, leading to a number of interesting and in-depth stories about the progression of the disease.

4 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. it's about time... by double_plus_ungod · · Score: 5, Interesting

    this flu season should be frightening. everyone will think they have the sars when it's just the flu.

    counting down to the next outbreak of some other nasty bug like hantavirus, westnile, or ebola

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    http://www.hellection.com
    1. Re:it's about time... by jsse · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This SARS is not a stupid virus as you might think. Here are the facts about the virus that really worried the experts:

      1) Regardless of what the press said, the method of spreading is still UNKNOWN
      2) Different regions revealed different format of the virus itself. Its true(or original) form is still UNKNOWN
      3) Some believed that the original infestion started by the contact of wild animal with human like it did for AIDS. However, experts later found that multiple generations of SARS were found in one region and even one host at the same time! It's rather different from AIDS. Thus, the origin of the virus is UNKNOWN

      Disclaimer: I live in Hong Kong - the city which has the major outbreak of SARS.

  2. Contained? by Mostly+Harmless · · Score: 5, Interesting

    How can they say they have the disease contained if they say, in their next breath, that they expect it to come back again?

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    "`Ford, you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.'" -Douglas Adams, THHGTTG
  3. Some perspective on SARS. by Christopher+Thomas · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This cartoon nicely sums up my opinion of the whole SARS thing:

    http://www.vgcats.com/vgc_comics/?strip_id=62

    Practical effect here in Toronto:

    First outbreak: People were edgy for about two weeks, and a few wore masks. Anyone with a cold got nervous looks when they coughed. Then the novelty wore off and it was business as usual.

    Second outbreak: Nil.

    The number of people quarantined was about 1% of the city's population. The number of people who were actually sick was far lower. The number of people _dead_ was lower than the number of people murdered here in an average year, and we're a city not known for its violence.

    Take is seriously? Sure. Panic? Not justified.

    The real harm is that the attention on SARS has drawn attention away from things like West Nile Virus.