OT: SARS - Should we be worried?

[Alzrius]

I'm only a few hours away from Tokyo, where there have been some cases already, so I'm slightly wary of going back to that city, and I'm constantly getting reminders from home to be careful about the disease (they're more worried for me than I am).

It's true that there are a lot of other diseases that kill more people than this, but for the most part, we in first-world countries have little to worry from those, since we have better facilities and resources. You can't really compare SARS to Malaria in terms of how likely someline like myself is to die from one or the other. I don't live in Africa, and I've had Malaria immunization (at least, I'm pretty sure that was one of the diseases that those shots you get when you're a kid innoculate you against). SARS is different. It's highly contagious, and its not confined to any particular region.

One thing that is worth noting is that people who catch this disease can, and do, recover. In fact, most recover, since the death toll attributed to this disease is far, far below the total number infected. That website seems somewhat outdated I think though...I read a newspaper here recently that said there were almost 800 dead total after China stopped suppressing some outbreak information due to Parliamentary elections.

It's probably best not to worry too much, and just clean up after yourself, wash hands a lot, etc. I know I'm going to be wearing a mask on the flight back to America, since the plane may or may not have stopped in China first.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

The worst plague to ever blight the face of the planet is humanity. I'm not racist. I hate everyone.

And nature invented us, so blame nature while you're at it. In fact, just skip the other steps and just write in a notebook "universe = bad." Working with that axiom will save you a lot of thinking.

 

[Bran Blackbyrd]

I don't know, but I have the flu right now and I wish I was dead, I feel that bad lol

I hear you man!
I don't know what I have, but I feel like utter garbage.
A few days ago I got a sore throat and a fever, the next day I felt totally run down and the sore throat made it impossible to eat anything. After that the sore throat and coughing almost totally disappeared, but my nose became stuffed up, my joints ached terribly.
I just keep trading one symptom for another.

 

[Alzrius]

And nature invented us, so blame nature while you're at it. In fact, just skip the other steps and just write in a notebook "universe = bad." Working with that axiom will save you a lot of thinking.

Now now, let's be fair. Only humans are the ones who massively screw each other over, and ruin the planet. Norfleet sounds like he really likes the planet, just not us for ruining it so much. I don't agree, but I understand.

 

[Eternalknight]

I hear you man!
I don't know what I have, but I feel like utter garbage.
A few days ago I got a sore throat and a fever, the next day I felt totally run down and the sore throat made it impossible to eat anything. After that the sore throat and coughing almost totally disappeared, but my nose became stuffed up, my joints ached terribly.
I just keep trading one symptom for another.

Yeah, I started with headaches on Thursday, then a sore throat, now I can barely talk due to losing my voice, and my legs, back and neck are aching.

 

[Gez]

No. You should not be worried by SARS.

Why ?

The probability you die from a car crash is much greater.

People are always more afraid of subtle, creepy death like Creutzfeld-Jacob-infected meat, asbestos in buildings, or that new SARS thing; they forget the blunt dangers of life.

There are much more death from "accepted" causes of loss of life (accidents of all kinds) than from the rejected causes (psychopatic murderer, or terrorist (what's the difference ?), creepy new diseases or poison, tobacco, etc.).

The only exception is mobile phones and their antenna networks. There are creepy danger associated to them, but noone care. Probably because it's too new to have caused any death right now; because it's backed by big corporation, and because it has induced a new way of life.

 

[Holy Bovine]

Now that would be quite scary. Let's hope nothing like that ever happens.

Yes I can't imagine anything worse than being trapped in a bad Stephen King novel *brrr*

I live in London, Ontario about 2 hours away from Toronto so i have been pretty much innudated with news and articles about SARS. For the most what I have read has been, somewhat, encouraging. SARS, according to The Toronto Star (a national newspaper based in Toronto I believe this was the Thursday edition), has been classified as a 'health care workers' disease as there has only been one verified case in Toronto who didn't work in the health care industry or had prolonged or intimate exposure to an exsisting SARS case (ie the 500 church goers who all drank from the same communal cup at an Easter service are all in quarentine because one of their members, a nurse, was believed to have been exposed to SARS - this is what the WHO used to place the travel advisory on Toronto).

What SARS is like in other nations that don't have the health care we do I don't know but I am convinced that the original outbreak in China was much widespread than what even now is being admitted to. If the Chinese officals had not been so worried about their precious image to the world this disease could have been contained much, much earlier. All IMO of course.

 

[Mark Chance]

Go back to Malthus and total up the number of times scientists have cried that the end is near. Now total up the number of times they've been right.

 

[Gez]

I would happily risk SARS in order to date an asian chick.

 

[Henry]

OK, It's time to re-iterate Piratecat's warning. Insulting other posters or commenting about their beliefs isn't going to get anyone anywhere.

This topic is important and timely to many people. I don't want to see it closed, but it will be if personal attacks ensue. Let's use good judgement here, please.