Twenty-First Century Plague: The Story of SARS
http://www.100md.com
《新英格兰医药杂志》
In war, truth is the first casualty.
— Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the plague of the new millennium. The disease has caused tremendous social, economic, and political disruptions worldwide. In his book, Thomas Abraham engages the reader as he discusses the trials and tribulations that were involved in reining in this infectious-disease epidemic in 2003. He does this skillfully by focusing on "ground zero," where the disease evolved, with two key chapters on China and Hong Kong. The book is richly filled with facts, and they are conveyed in a captivating manner. It is as impressive as the film Outbreak. More important, Abraham offers insights into the "dos and don'ts" of managing a public health crisis and provides key learning points that will be useful for dealing with emerging infections in the future. For readers who have had experience with the SARS epidemic firsthand, reading this book will cause déjà vu and bring back many memories, some of which will be heartrending.
Scanning Electron Micrograph Showing the Rosette-like Appearance of SARS Coronavirus Particles (Arrows).
In the inset, transmission electron microscopy and negative staining show the form and structure of the virus particle.
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Dr. Mary Ng Mah Lee, National University of Singapore.
As Abraham sees it, the World Health Organization (WHO) played a key leadership role in combating the spread of SARS and forged an exceptional global response to this first new global epidemic of the century. He cites the many quick and decisive actions taken by the WHO, including the unprecedented March 15, 2003, emergency travel advisory and the mobilizing of laboratories to work together to identify quickly the organism that caused SARS. That the previously unknown coronavirus was identified within a month of the outbreak was indeed an extraordinary achievement. Abraham is also candid in pointing out that the head of the WHO had to criticize one of its leading member states for tardiness in its response, a rare action on the part of this intergovernmental health organization.
Nobody, however, had prior knowledge of the disease or the virus when SARS first struck. As Abraham points out, by the time the disease had spread to other countries, the "doctors in Guangdong knew more about SARS than anyone else." He adds that none of this wisdom was imparted to the rest of the world. This was disastrous. Socioeconomic and political forces were at play at the time and could have contributed largely to this silence. Perhaps, if there had been prompt reporting of the full facts so that others were forewarned and could have taken preventive measures, history might have taken a different course. The SARS epidemic taught us that communication, collaboration, coordination, and transparency are crucial factors in containing a disease outbreak effectively and efficiently.
Abraham tells us that although tremendous progress has been made in medical science and technology, it was back-to-basics methods such as the old-fashioned techniques of virus isolation and quarantine that helped to contain SARS. The epidemic had also exposed many weaknesses in health care systems around the world in terms of their ability to contain the spread of infectious diseases. It is inevitable that SARS will not be the last epidemic the world has seen. As Abraham aptly puts it, "SARS was a dress rehearsal for the more serious threat posed by a new influenza pandemic." He sounds the warning with detailed accounts of the emergence and reemergence of outbreaks of avian influenza virus in Asia and elsewhere, and he concludes that SARS has offered us many valuable lessons on how to fight new global diseases. Indeed, we can find these inspirations by reading his book.
Suok Kai Chew, M.B., B.S.
Ministry of Health
169854 Singapore
— Aeschylus (525–456 B.C.)
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the plague of the new millennium. The disease has caused tremendous social, economic, and political disruptions worldwide. In his book, Thomas Abraham engages the reader as he discusses the trials and tribulations that were involved in reining in this infectious-disease epidemic in 2003. He does this skillfully by focusing on "ground zero," where the disease evolved, with two key chapters on China and Hong Kong. The book is richly filled with facts, and they are conveyed in a captivating manner. It is as impressive as the film Outbreak. More important, Abraham offers insights into the "dos and don'ts" of managing a public health crisis and provides key learning points that will be useful for dealing with emerging infections in the future. For readers who have had experience with the SARS epidemic firsthand, reading this book will cause déjà vu and bring back many memories, some of which will be heartrending.
Scanning Electron Micrograph Showing the Rosette-like Appearance of SARS Coronavirus Particles (Arrows).
In the inset, transmission electron microscopy and negative staining show the form and structure of the virus particle.
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Dr. Mary Ng Mah Lee, National University of Singapore.
As Abraham sees it, the World Health Organization (WHO) played a key leadership role in combating the spread of SARS and forged an exceptional global response to this first new global epidemic of the century. He cites the many quick and decisive actions taken by the WHO, including the unprecedented March 15, 2003, emergency travel advisory and the mobilizing of laboratories to work together to identify quickly the organism that caused SARS. That the previously unknown coronavirus was identified within a month of the outbreak was indeed an extraordinary achievement. Abraham is also candid in pointing out that the head of the WHO had to criticize one of its leading member states for tardiness in its response, a rare action on the part of this intergovernmental health organization.
Nobody, however, had prior knowledge of the disease or the virus when SARS first struck. As Abraham points out, by the time the disease had spread to other countries, the "doctors in Guangdong knew more about SARS than anyone else." He adds that none of this wisdom was imparted to the rest of the world. This was disastrous. Socioeconomic and political forces were at play at the time and could have contributed largely to this silence. Perhaps, if there had been prompt reporting of the full facts so that others were forewarned and could have taken preventive measures, history might have taken a different course. The SARS epidemic taught us that communication, collaboration, coordination, and transparency are crucial factors in containing a disease outbreak effectively and efficiently.
Abraham tells us that although tremendous progress has been made in medical science and technology, it was back-to-basics methods such as the old-fashioned techniques of virus isolation and quarantine that helped to contain SARS. The epidemic had also exposed many weaknesses in health care systems around the world in terms of their ability to contain the spread of infectious diseases. It is inevitable that SARS will not be the last epidemic the world has seen. As Abraham aptly puts it, "SARS was a dress rehearsal for the more serious threat posed by a new influenza pandemic." He sounds the warning with detailed accounts of the emergence and reemergence of outbreaks of avian influenza virus in Asia and elsewhere, and he concludes that SARS has offered us many valuable lessons on how to fight new global diseases. Indeed, we can find these inspirations by reading his book.
Suok Kai Chew, M.B., B.S.
Ministry of Health
169854 Singapore