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May 8, 2003 The SARS scare, I think it’s safe to say, has gotten most of us up in arms - scared, or unnerved to say the least. The big question now is, should it? What’s the reality of the situation? And what the heck is this SARS thing anyway? It’s not something they taught us about in high school health class. The fear is somewhat normal. Any time we, as people, run into something we don’t know about, either because we are misinformed, or simply because a thing hasn’t been around long enough for us to know anything about it, we get scared. After all, if no one knows what this SARS is or what it does, we certainly don’t know if it can happen to us. SARS, which is short for Severe Acute Respiratory Illness, is a new disease. Not, relatively new, like HIV, but brand new. It’s only been around for a matter of weeks. It was identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) a few weeks ago after a mysterious debut in mainland China. The disease was similar to the flu, but different. And it took a different course, leaving quite a few people deceased. China originally only reported a handful of cases, but later revealed it had covered up the existence of thousands of more cases. In the time it took for China to own up to it’s actions, the disease had spread to Taiwan and several other Asian countries. We got used to looking at the news and seeing entire cities of people walking down the street wearing blue masks over their faces. We wondered if, and when this unseen killer was going to come for us. And most of all, we wondered how, with only 28 cases reported in China, where the disease started, did it spread all the way around the world to Canada (and many places in between), leaving a path destruction much larger than 28 cases. The reason China hid thousands of SARS cases is as mysterious as the origins of the disease itself, and led to a large part of the “SARS scare.” There’s the rather optimistic view that the Chinese government was simply benignly, if misguidedly, trying to avert a world public health scare. “If people don’t know about it, they can’t be afraid of it. Besides, we can take care of it ourselves.” If you buy that line of reasoning, I’ve got a series of bridges to sell you in New Jersey. More likely-much more likely- is the tenuous political situation of the Chinese government, both internationally and within their own country. One would think that since it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China garners a great deal of respect around the world. It does not. Rather, its long history of repression and human rights abuses, as well as its unwillingness to listen to other powers and its relationship with Taiwan, have earned it a reputation as being less than a great power in the pantheon of states. The brutal crushing of demonstrations for more freedom in Tiananmin Square on international TV in 1989 didn’t help matters much either. Then there is the uncertain situation of the Chinese Communist party within China itself. Chinese history and culture holds that the ruling power within the country rules with the authority, or mandate of the gods. This is known as the “mandate of heaven.” At various times in the course of history, however, the ruling power loses the mandate of heaven, and no amount of force applied against the populace can make them get it back. This is an idea so embedded in Chinese culture that even the atheistic Communists hold it. There is widespread sentiment in the country that the Communists are losing the mandate of heaven. These fears were somewhat allayed in 1989 when the government was able to take control of it’s precious capitol once again. However, the fears have steadily multiplied. The emergence of the Falun Gong sect, which practices traditional Chinese exercises mixed with Buddhist beliefs, was the first sign of trouble. They gained a large following, even among the Party itself. When the top echelons of the Communist Party realized that many members were pledging their first allegiance to Falun Gong rather than the Party itself, they began to take repressive measure. Falun Gong responded by holding a series of nonviolent protests around the country which the Party seemed unable to suppress, even though the religion was eventually outlawed as a “dangerous cult.” The fears of the Communist Party, which have largely come true, were that the populace would be afraid of the new disease and demand protective health measures which the impoverished government was unable to provide. These fears on the part of the people have led to riots that the Communist Party have been unable to control. Maybe SARS will show the world that the Chinese Communist Party has lost the mandate of heaven. And where does that leave the rest of us? Canada and many of the Asian countries have, according to the WHO, been able to successfully contain the disease. Several cases of SARS have broken out on American soil, in New York City. There is still good reason to be cautious of the disease, like there is any other illness, but not as much as the Chinese cover-up suggests. So what are the symptoms of the disease? The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta recommends that if you are coughing continuously and have a temperature of at least 100.4, to see your doctor, and call ahead letting them know you think you have been exposed to SARS. Do they recommend protective masks like we’ve seen on the news? Hardly. And as for how dangerous it is, it’s not like AIDS, which has nearly a 100 percent death rate, nor as hideous as Ebola, which has a lower death rate but could cause you to literally cough up a lung or other vital organs. The sense from the CDC on SARS? If you’re not in health care, don’t worry about it. David Aurisano is a graduate student at the University of Houston. Email David: daurisano@hotmail.com ------------ Comment on this column in the forum. ------------ |
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