Bumble Bee Tuna

well, the subject line says it all-
How dangerous do you think SARS is?
How does it compare to other major epidemics of history?
What is the risk of it spreading to the rest of the world?
etc...

-B

Secular Pinoy

Try this thread.

abe smith

Considering that in 2002, here in the USofA, not-quite
FORTY THREE THOUSAND humanbeings DIED in motor vehicle accidents,
what the hell is everybody so all-bint-outa shape about SARS for? Let's get our holocausts prioritized here.

johngalt

I think SARS has the potential to become an epidemic, but it in all certainty won't. The WHO and the CDC have it pretty much under wraps, and SARS won't ever become as serious as the Ebola epidemic in Africa. I think the problem is that people aren't taking it serious enough(tourists and the like) and that it is these people that help spread the virus to other airports around the world.

Ockhamite

The relatively low death count attributable to SARS should not be used to underestimate the potential magnitude of this infection. The window of opportunity to prevent a pandemic is closing fast and China certainly does not have the situation under control. The widespread dispersal of local chains-of-infection can overwhelm the health infrastructure of China and other South Asian countries very quickly despite their belated but wholehearted attempts to prevent it from happening. China has only a few weeks to assert control of a pathogen that will ultimately kill millions worldwide if not checked. Once they breach a critical number of those infecting others, they have no chance of stopping the spread of SARS. Indeed, this threshold may already have been surpassed.

The death rate for SARS depends on age, health, level of medical care available and other factors, however, if billions get SARS, millions will die.