03-29-2009, 07:17 AM
Quote:SARS -- Pneumonic plague -- or another similar one is Hantavirus -- Lung infection, and suffocate in a day.
I've got some potentially good news for you. Unless you happen to be in the following list:
- Nurses\doctors or anyone who work in the frontline situations of a hospital\ICUs on a daily basis.
- The very young or the very old.
- Someone who already have a seriously compromised health due to sickness or injury, and or
happen to be in a hospital \ ICUs.
You probably don't need to be losing that much sleep over suffocating from SARS.
No, I'm not a doctor, or a scientician. This is just my 2 cents, earned from living through the Toronto SARS experience around 2003. And not from my couch watching it on TV, or the innernets. (Well Ok, I actually did all of the above. For the big scarytime show I tuned into the TV. I even saw our idiot of a mayor at the time on Larry King. Making as usual, a big idiot of himself.)
I happened to 'luck' into an unexpected first row seats to the whole thing. One of my family member had to go in for surgery, right in the middle of the SARS outbreak. We had to go to one of the few hospitals downtown that can still do surgeries at the time, because every other hospital was virtually in quarantine.
We survived just fine, including the family member who had the surgery. Which was the biggest worry we had at the time.
Now, I want to make something clear here. I'm not downplaying the dangers of any disease like SARS. But some of the dangers I experienced with SARS, almost had nothing to do with SARS itself. It was less 'Outbreak' with Dustin Hoffman, and more the first 3/4 of 'Jaws'. Even if they were out of the water, some people were still screaming SARS!!11 :rolleyes:I mean SHARKS!!111
In my rusty steeltrap memory, it went something like this.
- Ignorance when SARS was first suspected, then send in the clowns. These are usually people of official capacity who sometimes doesn't know much medically, and sometimes doesn't know about anything. Just bureaucrats in the worst sense of the word. They can then alternate between talking down to people like they're toddlers, and showing a display of boobery rivaled only by a Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. After the official clown has done the first act, the freelance amateurs try to follow. Usually they're carrying their own microphones and have better make-up department. They might not have all the facts yet, but by gads they got opinions! But it's just a warm up act compared to what's coming up next.
- Enter the lovely and talented, Miss-Information! She's usually followed around by the Fear-Addict, and Chicken Little. And her bitchay twin sister, Rumours. Miss-Information is not really malicious, she's more ignorant than anything else, and sometimes she tries to learn from her mistakes. It's just that she's oblivious to a lot of harm her actions can bring to any situation. Poor Miss-Information is often used by Fear-Addict, Chicken Little, and Rumours for their own purpose. Miss-Information does keep up with the latest in technology, and she can be found on the Interweb near you. But this show isn't all just about fun and games. Because please give a warm welcome to our next performer.
- Emergence of the Emergency Enterpreneurs. You want an N95 mask to keep that nasty SARS away?
50$. For one. 500$ for a box of 10. Aw hell, I like your face, make it an even 400$. Good deal, regular price at regular times is probably around 5-10 bucks max, for a pack of 2, but those times ain't now. And they're all sold out by now anyway. And how much is your life, and your loved ones life is worth, are you going to cheap out on them, or yourself? I also got some special anti-SARS soap if you're interested in a combo pack.
- Time for some edutainment break. Now it's important to repeat this as loudly and as often as we can. The word of the day is, Epidemic! Doesn't matter if not all the facts are in, it's an Epidemic! Act like the world is being stalked by a biblical-sized Pestilence, because it still might be, an Epidemic! Hooray! Are you safe in your home with your loved ones with nary a cough, well -do- worry, because it's a, what is it folks? Epidemic! Yay!
- If we're lucky, someone will emerge who has a good head on their shoulder to try to manage the circus. In our case, it was this IMO, great woman.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/200...asrur-obit.html
When some people were worried about how the SHARK will negatively impact the upcoming long weekend beach celebration, or severely downplaying the situation, or severely up-playing the situation. This woman managed a not so minor miracle. She spoke with calm and clarity, and honesty, and somehow or other most people responded with trust. And because no good deed goes unpunished, she later got cancer. Some of the clowns who did not have her kind of mettle, seems to be living cancer free thus far. That coffee mug I saw was right. Life's a biatch.
- And now, the final act. SARS retreated (it didn't die, way too valuable as a Fear Franchise). The world did not collapse, civilization somehow survived this latest Epidemic. (LOVE that word!)
Let's make sure we learn all the valuable lessons this crisis brought, because it's been paid for in real lives lost. To not do so would mean the deaths that did happen due to negligence, ignorance, incompetence, will all be in vain. Those things probably took more lives than SARS did, at least in Toronto 2003. Sometimes it's the indirect hit that causes the most damage.
Nah...it's more fun yelling SHARKS!11
In any case here's some links that may or may not be of interest.
A dry academic read, seriously who reads these things, the people in charge? Pfft. Way too boring.
http://www.yorku.ca/igreene/sars.html
A slightly more entertaining magazine link.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/ind...ams=M1SEC705401
And the most entertaining of all.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...b=Entertainment