What
happened to SARS?
Every few years a new plague that is going
to destroy the world is discovered by the media. Sensational
headlines along the lines of 'Killer Meteor could destroy
the Earth', 'Killer virus Ebola could destroy mankind'. In
2003 the doom-mongers had it that Sars was going to sweep
the globe and be the first major pandemic of the 21st Century.
Pictures of people in Far Eastern airports wearing face masks
are now a distant memory for most of us, but what happened
to SARS and why has everyone stopped talking about it?
SARS (or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
emerged in 2003 spreading around the globe at an alarming
rate sped by air travel, it hit over 8000 people in over 25
countries leading to 774 deaths.
It is believed the first case was reported
in China in November 2002, the media picked up on it around
March and the last known case was in early July 2003. So where
did it come from and if it was so contagious why did it disappear
so quickly?
Scientists don't actually know all the answers
to these questions. SARS is believed to have developed from
a virus in animals eaten in Southern China. SARS has probably
not disappeared and may be lurking (if viruses do lurk) in
this same animal population. If it emerges again which is
a distinct possibility, will it be able to transfer human
to human or be as contagious or worse, no one knows.
SARS has taught us that even when a virus
makes that leap to human to human infection, when it is contagious
and when it is spread over a wide geographical area, there
is not necessarily reason to panic. |
