Health Alert 81
You are 300 times more likely to die from malaria than SARS. The ill-used media has caused Americans to panic over this new disease. SARS or severe acute respiratory syndrome has been a principal insert on every newscast. Anchors continue to report, with frenzy, of new cases of this illness.
Unfortunately, sometimes the media dramatizes these situations. What could be more horrific than an unseen foreign disease just waiting for it’s next victim. Yes, SARS is serious for those who develop it. But our planet has deadlier diseases that get very little media coverage.
I want to put infectious diseases in perspective. I’ll fill you in on the truth about SARS and other infectious diseases. I’ll also tell you how to figure out whether your news source is accurate or a performance.
* The Truth About SARS *
SARS is actually a severe cold virus, like pneumonia. People infected with SARS have reported a fever over 104°F, a dry cough, difficulty breathing, and an achy feeling within about a week of infection.
Scientists have recently discovered the cause of SARS. A coronavirus is the culprit. There are several types of coronaviruses. Most cause mild respiratory illnesses. The SARS coronavirus is the most severe.
The CDC has this to say about how SARS spreads:
SARS is spread by close contact between people. SARS is most likely spread when someone sick with the disease coughs droplets into the air and someone else breathes them in.1
Unlike the media depiction, not everyone is at risk of developing SARS. Those at risk for developing SARS include people whom:
• Have weakened immune systems
• Are susceptible to pneumonia
• Live with a SARS patient
• Care for SARS patients
• Come into very close contact with SARS patient
* The Deadliest Disease *
SARS had been around for about 6 months. The number of reported cases of SARS worldwide is a little over 7,000. Around 3,000 people have died from the disease. These sound like threatening numbers, but just wait one moment.
Did you know that 1/3 of the world’s population has tuberculosis? That’s 2 billion people. Every year over 1.5 million people die from the disease. Over 1 million people die from malaria every year. That is equivalent to the population of Maine.
Wouldn’t that make a good news story?
Deaths Since
The Onset of SARS
Disease Number of Deaths
SARS 3,000
Malaria 500,000
Tuberculosis 750,000
* What To Do *
Unless you are traveling to areas with high incidence of SARS, you don’t have to be concerned about catching the illness. China (especially Hong Kong), Toronto, and Singapore have the most cases of SARS.
Here’s my advice for travelers:
• Make sure that you are healthy before traveling
• Avoid densely populated cities
• Avoid close contact with anyone known to have SARS
• Be aware of SARS symptoms
• Watch for any health changes within 10 days of traveling
• Limit traveling to regions reporting numerous SARS cases.
You should know how to distinguish between true news reporting and media drama. Here are a few tips that I follow whenever I read or watch news:
Look at the source. Are you watching an international, national, or local news source? Chances are the news sources who over-sensationalize stories are those who have little else to report on.
What’s their motivation? All news sources depend on money to keep them afloat. Ask yourself if the source is reporting a story just to sell products. The Public Broadcasting Station tends to embellish news less.
Listen to just the facts. If you are interested in a topic, don’t leave it up to the media to fill you in on it. Go straight to the source. As in the case of SARS, look at the facts. The CDC keeps track of all of the SARS cases.
Put it into perspective. Once you know the facts about a topic, like SARS, you can decide how you feel about it.
If you need additional information about SARS go to the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars.com.
Al Sears, M.D.
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Electronic Fact Sheet: www.cdc.gov/ncidod/sars/factsheet.htm