ARTICLES> Overreaction to SARS Revisited: The SIP Problem and Media Hype
- From: Gleason Sackmann <gleason@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: NetHappenings <nethappenings@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 May 2003 07:58:49 -0500
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Net Happenings - From Educational CyberPlayGround
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From: "David P. Dillard" ?jwne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?
Sent: Wed, 14 May 2003 13:12:28 -0400 (EDT)
Dr. Bob McKercher posted a message about the harm that fear of SARS, also
termed SIP (SARS induced panic) was having on the tourism industries,
travel industries and the world economy in general. With permission, I
reposted this message and added a substantial number of news story links
and excerpts that were related to Dr. Bob McKercher's original post. That
message can be reviewed at this URL:
Wed Apr 30, 2003 3:11 pm
6,999,986 HK residents NOT disagnosed with SARS today!
?http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mediamentor/message/11725?
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
The purpose of this message is to provide links and excerpts from
additional articles of more recent vintage regarding this problem of
overreaction to SARS:
Hysteria, Thy Name is SARS
By Michael Fumento
National Review Online, May 7, 2003
?http://www.fumento.com/disease/nrosars.html?
The media need a chill pill.
Last week's covers of U.S. News ? World Report, Time, and Newsweek were
virtually identical: A terrified person wearing a medical mask emblazoned
"SARS." The April 29 New Zealand Herald headlined: "SARS Surge Could
Stretch NZ Says Annette King." Total confirmed New Zealand cases: one.
"SARS could eventually kill millions," blared the New Scientist wire
service, with no hint as to how this might happen. SARS "now threatens to
plunge the world economy into freefall," declared the London Observer. The
New York Times has printed over 330 articles mentioning the disease in the
last 30 days, while even the staid Wall Street Journal published ten SARS
articles on a single day.
University of Toronto Medical historian Edward Shorter calls SARS reaction
"A media-fanned wave of mass hysteria," and "mass psychosis." But is he
overstating the case?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of May 6, 6727 cases
of SARS have been reported since mid-November with 478 deaths. In what at
a glance seems one of the few slight concessions to reality Slate
reported: "SARS is not quite as contagious as the flu." But that's a
slight understatement. Flu causes between "three and five million cases of
severe illness and between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths" per year, according
to the WHO far more serious illness and death in a single day than SARS
has caused in 21 weeks. Far more Americans die of influenza each year
during flu season (about 36,000) than have yet been killed by SARS
globally. Yet few Americans would die of flu if only they were worried
enough to roll up their sleeves for a $15 (or often free) vaccination
?snip?
This global hysteria has no upside. As Shorter says, even as it appears in
most places the disease is being contained, "What hasn't been contained is
the mass psychosis surrounding it. It's entirely the working of the media;
this need never have happened." In fairness though, public health
officials have also contributed.
Roosevelt's assertion in 1933 "that the only thing we have to fear is fear
itself" was certainly an overgeneralization; but it has never been more
applicable than during the SARS hysteria.
----------------------
Few Americans Worried About SARS
Most are Following News of SARS, But Fear of Catching it Is Muted
Analysis
By Dalia Sussman
?http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/World/SARSpoll_030405.html?
Thirty-eight percent worry that they or an immediate family member will
catch Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. By contrast, 53 percent in a
Gallup poll last fall worried about exposure to the West Nile virus, and
45 percent in January 2001 worried about mad cow disease becoming a
problem here.
High-intensity concern, moreover, is lower: Only one in 10 are worried "a
great deal" about getting SARS.
----------------------
SARS Fear over reason
May 12, 2003
By Dr. Gilbert Ross
?http://www.acsh.org/press/editorials/sars051203.html?
The specter of contagious disease often engenders a primal reaction based
on fear, with resultant irrational behavior. SARS is no exception. Only a
few weeks ago, New York's bustling Chinatown became a ghost town as a
result.
Another example of fear overcoming reason also emerged last week, from a
most unlikely source: the University of California at Berkeley, which at
first pulled the summer-class welcome mat for students from selected parts
of the Far East. Although UC officials over the weekend partially
rescinded the ban, allowing some 80 students from the affected areas to
attend summer classes in the core academic program, another 500 students
are still being blocked from taking English as a second language through
UC Extension.
It appears that the highest officials at UC Berkeley were simply not
paying careful attention. Despite the persistent spread of SARS in China
and, to a lesser degree, in Taiwan, there is much good news to report
about the epidemic.
Efforts to contain the spread of the virus have been largely effective,
and the number of new cases is on the decline.
----------------------
Commentary: Fear may be a greater threat than SARS itself
William Pesek Jr. Bloomberg News
?http://www.iht.com/articles/94311.html?
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong of Singapore put it best last week when he
warned that a "crisis of fear" was consuming his country's economy. The
reference was to SARS, and his words have significance for all of Asia's
economies.
----------------------
Posted April 30, 2003
Fear, Truth and SARS
by Dr. Marc Siegel
?http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20030512?s=siegel?
By y focusing only on the worst-case scenarios regarding the spread of
SARS, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control
are trying to control the populace through fear. This is helping to spread
worldwide economic havoc--many estimates say that SARS has cost $30
billion already to local economies worldwide. Toronto had been cut off by
the new WHO travel advisory until today. Chinatowns are deserted. And
people around the world are stigmatizing anyone who comes from an Asian
country.
There is no evidence that quarantining entire countries does as much to
prevent the spread of a disease as targeting those who actually have it or
may have it. That seems to be the lesson behind Vietnam's recent success
in limiting the spread of the virus.
----------------------
Experts Warn Against SARS' Psychological Impact on Asian Economy
?http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200305/14/eng20030514_116647.shtml?
Asian countries should fight the fear caused by severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS), which could bring negative impact to economic
development, experts said in Beijing Tuesday at a forum called "SARS and
Asia's Economy -- Impacts and Policy Recommendations".
Agreeing on the temporary influence of SARS, economists participating were
greatly concerned about handling economic development while overcoming the
fear of SARS. They also called for concrete measures to eliminate any
overreaction among the public.
----------------------
The full articles may be read at the URLs above.
Sincerely,
David Dillard Research Librarian
david@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ECP RingLeader
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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