SARS pandemic causes widespread pandemonium

                                                            By Mark Arellano

            Over a year ago, the severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known as SARS, has infected numerous people in Southeast Asia, where it is believed to have started. As of recently, there have been widespread cases popping up globally from China to California, due to travelers spreading the disease to other parts of the world through travel, and unknowing victims to SARS never suspecting they contracted the disease. At the time of writing, two-thousand four-hundred people have become infected internationally, eighty have died, and at least one-hundred and fifteen people are suspected of carrying the disease in the U.S., thirty-one cases reported here in Southern California. The most common symptoms include dry cough, fever, and tiredness.

            The outbreak has reached so far that quarantines of ships, planes, and schools have taken place, and informational pamphlets are being handed out to travelers about being exposed to SARS and what to do if they come into contact with it. President Bush has put SARS on the list of communicable diseases at the time of writing; there have not been any additions to the list in nearly two decades. the source for most of these cases are Southeast Asia, where thousands of people are infected in various countries such as Vietnam, China, and Singapore. When asked about the current SARS scare, junior Naomi Ngai said, “Due to recent high increases of SARS in many vast regions of the world, the spread of SARS is quite appalling, but at the same time one must take into consideration the likeliness of an actual outbreak here so close to home; once a proper vaccine is concocted to help the people infected, and immunize the people who have not been exposed to the disease, the chances of contracting the disease are low, so I’ve nothing to worry about!”

            In China, thirty-one people have already died from the disease, mostly in the Beijing and Guangdong regions. In Singapore, various cases of SARS have come up, and the country’s health specialists have quarantined many places where people associated with the virus have been as of lately such as office buildings, schools, and public shopping centers. Quarantines and inspections of these places have been set up for as long as ten days. Junior Chrissy Demuth said, “With the necessary medical attention and comprehension of what SARS is all about, there cannot be a high risk factor involved in spreading SARS. As regarding to the United States, we are one of the leading medically advanced nations in the world, with technology preceding everyone’s knowledge of current medicines, and even with the high number of outbreaks already reported in the U.S., with our health control and various remedies, it won’t be a crucial factor in the U.S., so I’m not worried about being infected.”

            Another major center of attraction for this problem has been in Hong Kong, where ten deaths have been reported, and the country is setting up informational awareness for their people. Here in the U.S., none of the one-hundred fifteen suspected holders have died. Of the number present in the U.S., twenty-seven have been hospitalized, and one-hundred nine have recently traveled to SARS-inflicted locations. The Center for Disease Control has issued immediate inspections of planes and other places the disease has been detected, and it’s been noted that most of these cases are with people who have been in southeastern Asia within the past couple of months. The CDC has confirmed that SARS is related to measles and mumps, and that sufferers of the outbreak have come down with a harsh strain of pneumonia.

            The World Health Organization (WHO) and the CDC are working quickly to try and find a possible vaccine for SARS. People who have been subject to or suspect contact with the disease are urged to check into the hospital concurrently to avoid further distribution of SARS. International borders are being highly cautious of detecting more outbreaks, and a high alert has been put on emphasizing health safety from our adults to our children.