Scourge Of SARS
A Mystery Illness Of The 21st Century

By Uttam Maharjan

MANKIND has made much progress in the medical field. Scientists and medical practitioners around the world are busy experimenting with new drugs to cure existing diseases in a better way or to fight new diseases. Their medical contributions have saved innumerable lives, thus reducing the mortality and morbidity rates and prolonging the life expectancy.

Mysterious

All the same, mankind has not been able to cope with every kind of illness. This is because man has yet to fully fathom the depths of nature that is always mysterious. A good example is AIDS. Although over two decades have rolled on since its first outbreak, no effective medicine has yet been developed. The only progress seems to be the fact that the causative agent of the disease, the HIV virus, has been identified.

Now, a new form of illness has been talk of the town. Around 30 countries across the world are affected by this deadly disease called severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). As it is related to pneumonia, but more severe and fatal, it has been dubbed killer pneumonia. SARS is a mystery disease of the 21st century that has posed a great threat to mankind. It is believed to have originated in the Guangdong province of China in November 2002, spread to Hong Kong in February 2003 and thence around the world.

As of date, a whopping 2,500 cases of SARS have been reported in 30 countries. And, new cases of the disease are appearing. The most affected countries are Asian countries like China (including Hong Kong), Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The other countries outside Asia are Australia, Canada and the USA.

Various countries have now taken precautionary measures to fight SARS. Singapore has taken 'quarantine' measures to ward off the disease. It has closed down schools to prevent the spread of the disease among schoolchildren. Similarly, American President George W. Bush has, despite his preoccupation with the Iraq war, signed an executive order uthorising the forced quarantine of people to preempt the spread of the disease.

SARS has disrupted travel and tourism, especially in Asian countries. Flights, conferences and other events have been revoked in large numbers. At a time when world tourism has been affected by terrorism and the on-going Iraq war, the additional threat posed by SARS has stoked the fire of fear and trepidations among people. WHO has issued strong warnings against travel to countries like Hong Kong and Thailand, where SARS has manifested itself as a potential threat. It is believed that around 100 boffins and medical practitioners and working round the clock to identify the virus that causes SARS. They have focused their attention on a strain of the coronavirus, which causes a third of all colds and diseases in animals. Researchers believe that SARS may be caused by a coronavirus that moved from animals to man. Or, it is a standard human coronavirus that picked up harmful genes from an animal strain of the virus. Such things have happened in the recent past. The hendra virus spread from horses to people in Australia, while the nipah virus spread from pigs to people in Malaysia.

However, till now SARS has baffled the investigators so much so that they are still far from pinpointing the causative agent of the disease. Their investigations have only found that SARS is a viral disease that, like viral influenza and pneumonia, attacks the respiratory system.
SARS is a fatal disease marked by severe fever, a cough, gasping, pains in the neck and chest and so on. Its symptoms appear in 2 to 7 days after infection. The disease can be transmitted to people through tiny droplets that become airborne after coming out when the patent sneezes or coughs. Therefore, it is essential to sequester patients to prevent the infection. Staying away from patients and using masks are judicious to escape contracting the disease.

It may be noted that thousands of Nepalese visit and return from SARS-infected countries like Hong Kong and Thailand. SARS being a highly contagious disease, there is a high possibility that such people may give the disease to other fellows back home. So, it is a must on the part of health officials to screen every such person at border checkpoints to prevent the import of the disease.

Consequences

It is obvious that even slight negligence may produce dire consequences. In our country, where even basic health facilities are yet to be fulfilled, additional funds that will have to be earmarked to fight SARS if it invades the country will certainly drain away our limited resources. As such, the proverb-prevention is better than cure-must be adhered to in its strict sense before it is too late.

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