Ever since the beginning of civilization, wars and diseases have proven to inflict bothersome disruptions on the well-being of humanity. Both adversities strike fear in mortal hearts and have the potential to bring ruin and destruction as they spell tragedy and distress of nations.

While war and disease are no new phenomena, technological advancements in modern times have certainly served to heighten the possibilities of new and more impacting strains of these perils. Today, we are constantly bombarded with alarming reports of potential nuclear weaponry as well as biological and chemical war devices. In addition, the availability of rapid trans-continental air travel has helped to make a new communicable disease like SARS even that more threatening to global health conditions.
Former fears of the pending world-wide catastrophes that were expected to be associated with the outcome of the U.S. led war on Iraq are now all but allayed. Operation Iraqi Freedom, the war itself which got underway on March 19th, has now been virtually completed. And though the prime objective of the war was to discover and destroy any weapons of mass destruction for which both America and Britain had condemned Saddam Hussein, even a month after the commencement of war no such armory has been proven as a result of the joint-invasion. Coalition forces, though, have been very successful in at least beginning to institute regime change by ousting Saddam Hussein, his cabinet, and his brutal dictatorial powers.
But amidst reports of what I consider as a lack of gratitude on the part of Islamic Iraqis who now desire American and British freedom fighting forces to abruptly return home, so that they can now take over the governing of themselves under their own Islamic laws, and amidst reports of civil confusion, chaos and instability on the post-war Iraqi front, both eastern and western hemispheres now face another kind of dilemma, that of the killer SARS virus. The urgency of this scary outbreak has motivated prudent governments and health officials world-wide to take proactive measures against its migration and to stem its spread.
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) was first discovered in China, the world’s most populace country of over 1.2 billion. SARS affects the body similarly to the common cold initially, with the onset of fever, headaches, chills, coughs, and difficulty in breathing. In advance cases, however, this difficult breathing progresses into a chronic form of pneumonia which severely affects the function of the lungs. It is at this stage that the infected patient may be in the fatal zone, since treatment at this point of the syndrome is not overwhelmingly successful. That being said, the current mortality rate for those affected by the disease in general is only 4%.
Health officials in China, as far back as November, discovered that a small number of persons came down with the virus which was then suspected to be derived from animals. The uncontrolled virus had a good chance to incubate and spread, and some of those first patients sadly expired. Throughout the months that followed, and until recently, China’s cases grew to over a thousand. But by then, Chinese health authorities had tried to down play the statistics and covered up the magnitude of the situation for fear of national panic and economic downturns. As a result of allegedly attempting to misrepresent the truth about the epidemic, both the Mayor of Beijing and the Chinese Minister of Health were subsequently sacked of their positions - symbolic of bamboo curtain politics.

Documented reports on the epidemic issued as late as Wednesday, April 16th, by the World Health Organization, estimated world-wide cases to total some 3,293. Of these, China’s statistics were greatest with 1,432 reported cases and 64 deaths; next in line was Hong Kong with 1,268 cases and 61 deaths; in third position was the United States, reporting 193 cases, but no reports on deaths; Singapore was next with 162 cases reported and 13 deaths; Canada was in fifth position with a reported total of 103 cases and 13 deaths. Other regions may be too negligible to mention.
But, by Sunday last, statistics on deaths had risen dramatically showing that China had reached a toll of 97; Hong Kong’s deaths had risen by 35 to 99; Singapore increased by 3 to 16; and Canada suffered one more death, bringing its total to 14.
Though one should not be startled over these figures, it is noteworthy that governments and peoples all around the globe must be ever cognizant about the threat of this new global plight. One infected person entering a population can have a massive impact on that population, if indeed that individual bearing the virus is not detected in time and isolated under intensive care conditions. By the way, it has been recently reported that in one Canadian hospital an entire ward containing patients with the disease had to be abandoned after it was found that two nurses treating infected patients had contracted the SARS virus.
Dr. Patrick Dixon, author of website article “The Truth About SARS Infection”, is an authority on HIV/AIDS and lethal viruses, and has been tracking fatal communicable diseases for some 15 years. On website www.globalchange.com/sars, Dr. Dixon makes profound references to the SARS outbreak and states: “We are right on the edge of a potential global catastrophe. If SARS spreads much further into the general population of China, a global pandemic will be almost inevitable, threatening possibly 2 to 4 billion people with severe or even fatal illnesses. SARS infection is hard to control, poorly understood and easily spread.”

That statement should in no way deliver a shock to people who regard precautionary restrictions on travel to infected regions and governments who are vigilant enough to put preventative measures in place to ward off any access of the disease via immigration. However, it goes without saying that governments’ response to the outbreak can be quite challenging. Dr. Dixon further mentions, “A key challenge with SARS is the fear governments have of spreading panic, not only among their own people, but also among tourists and investors. However, the epidemic has the potential to become a real threat to global health, and if it is allowed to spread much further, it may become a wild-fire impossible to put out.”
While local government and public health officials here need not be over-concerned about the possibilities of a global outbreak, still neither should they be complacent and uncaring about its potential local manifestations. We should not feel that this ominous illness is far removed and remote from our immediate vicinity, for SARS has no boundaries. The source document used for this article displays a list of hundreds of countries that could be at risk for infection. Many Caribbean islands are included, such as Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Trinidad & Tobago. For what might be some apparent good reason, Anguilla does not make the list; but then again, neither is St. Maarten nor any of the Virgin Islands, British nor U.S. It can be inferred therefore, that this list, though quite extensive is not comprehensive in scope and does not really take into account all regions around the world that could be subject to SARS exposure.
By press time on Wednesday April 23, world-wide cases had risen to 3,947 and total deaths reported had mounted to 251. Head of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in the U.S., Dr. Julie Gerberding, warned that the last thing we can ever do is to relax over this epidemic. She cautioned that we must learn from other countries and learn from current trends.

Meanwhile, in China itself, apart from its SARS woes, U.S., Korean, and Chinese diplomats are currently meeting to discuss the aversion of the potential development of nuclear war. Yes, war! It is rather ironic that of all other countries across the globe, the same country that has set the stage for the SARS scare must now be the host for staging these utterly important diplomatic talks toward making a contribution for world peace.

No one may be able to figure out what is the providential significance to China’s dual responsibility here, whether it is mere coincidence or an occurrence of fate. But it must be noted that, practically speaking, China has great influence on the will of nuclear-power-wielding North Korea and with such influence it is to a great extent capable of restraining N. Korea’s “experimentation” with enriched uranium rods that can be converted into nuclear weaponry. We must be aware and should not play slight of these two separate scenarios related to the possibility of both high profile war and the new, subtle disease called SARS. Let’s be vigilant and prudent enough to take precautions wherever it is at all possible.

James R. Harrigan

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