> > > Compared to other killer diseases (eg influenza, malaria) and even
> > > chronic atmospheric pollution from traffic, SARS doesn't really rate. So
> > > is the panic concern about it justified ?

The problem with disease is that people have a (perhaps cultural?) fear
of plagues. This goes above and beyond the actual damage caused by the
disease. In addition, of course, the timing of this outbreak with
the USA/Iraq war scares people (no, I don't believe that this is a
terrorist action).

Also SARS seems to be *highly* contageous and has been spread world-wide
by this time. This will have multiple effect on the economies of *many*
countries. I feel that the health care facilities of any city with
suspected infections will be quickly overwhelmed, primarily by people
who either don't have SARS or have a minor case.

> Note that the reports from the USA are NOT consistent with those from
> anywhere else. USA reports 150 + suspected infections but NO deaths.

The problem with SARS is that it may be highly under-reported. It is
possible that most people who get the virus just think of it as a cold
or flu. Also if this is caused by a type of cold virus, then it could
mutate rapidly -- and chance favors a less dangerous version at this point.

I strongly suspect that if there have been deaths in the USA they have
been listed under another cause. I'm not sure there is a good and cheap
test for this yet.
--
D. Jay Newman          ! Pudge controls the weather.
jay@sprucegrove.com    !
http://enerd.ws/~jay/  ! Oh good. My dog found the chainsaw.

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