I like today's WHO update on SARS. It describes the unprecedented international cooperation to contain and better understand this syndrome of almost unprecedented international magnitude. I particularly like the last paragraph. I don't know if it will be exciting to anyone that doesn't get excited about diseases, like I do, but I put it here anyway.
The next weeks and months will tell whether the global alert and response will contain the current SARS outbreaks, preventing SARS from becoming yet another endemic infectious disease in human populations, or whether SARS will remain confined to its origins in nature, to re-emerge at yet another time and place. It is clear that the responsibility for containing the emergence of any new infectious disease showing international spread lies on all countries. In a world where all national borders are porous when confronted by a microbial threat, it is in the interest of all populations for countries to share the information they may have as soon as it is available. In so doing, they will allow both near and distant countries - all neighbours in our globalized world - to benefit from the understanding they have gained.
Posted by Shokufeh at April 11, 2003 01:25 PMI don't get excited about diseases, but that was a great paragraph. It's almost poetic. I especially liked the choice of the word <i>porous</i>. Nice job, WHO.
Posted by: Afshin at April 12, 2003 01:00 AMi think you liked it because they used "infectious disease" more than once. i know that's why i liked it.
Posted by: meisa at April 12, 2003 08:42 AM