There is a natural fear that comes from proximity to disease. Rational thought becomes much more difficult in such circumstances, especially when the element of uncertainty or of the unknown is added.
\nThat’s the case these days with SARS. And as Japan is just a short hop away from the apparent epicenter of the SARS outbreak, I can’t help but feeling a bit of anxiety about the spread of the virus.
\nNot that Japan is really any closer to China than any other country with an airport, tourists and business travelers. After all, Canada has had the highest SARS death toll after China and Hong Kong. And there are currently more than 150 suspected cases of SARS in the United States.
\nHere in Japan, the government reports that there are now 28 “probable” or “suspected” cases of SARS in this country. (UPDATE: The Japanese government is now saying that none of these 28 cases is considered to be SARS.)
\nOne of my students returned from a trip to Southern China last week. I didn’t really think anything of it until after sitting through a lunch looking over her snapshots from the trip and realizing that the area she’d been in was in Southern China. Then, just two days ago, she mentioned that a friend from China had visited her family last weekend and that her husband was in China this week on business.
\nThe family of another student has been planning to move to Toronto this June so her husband, a doctor, could work at a hospital there for a year. They’d planned to travel to Toronto last week for a quick visit, but had to cancel because of the SARS outbreak in that city. It turns out the hospital where her husband was to be working is connected to the facility that saw the first Toronto SARS deaths. One hospital is shut down, the other under restricted use. Her family’s plans to move to Toronto are now on hold.
\nI’d planned to travel to China in June, but that’s not going to happen now. Even a trip to Seoul is up in the air. At this point, any Asian travel plans will have to be made at the last minute, depending on the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There is a natural fear that comes from proximity to disease. Rational thought becomes much more difficult in such circumstances, especially when the element of uncertainty or of the unknown is added. That’s the case these days with SARS. And as Japan is just a short hop away from the apparent epicenter of the SARS… Continue reading Thinking About SARS<\/span>