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SARS in Toronto - a textbook media circus event (pg. 2)
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| drizzt81 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Wurm
There are about 200 people in an area of about 5 million who have SARS, and all of the cases are traceable -no widespread community outbreak.
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There are 200 people who have been IDENTIFIED with SARS... that is different from 200 people with SARS.
I do agree that it is overhyped, but it is up to YOU as a person to figure out what u want to do. If one lets the media make your decisions, then one can't complain about them, since one has given away his or her freedom anyway.
I have been in TO after the SARS stuff started and I am 'glad' that I am still healthy. Do I think that I am lucky that I did not get it? Nope. I think that the chances are small enough that there are other things i'd rather worry about.
Anyways, the only benefit of the hype is that it creates and environment, which will prevent an epidemic and if that is what the WHO is trying to do, then they are succeeding. Aren't you happy that there are only ~200 people with it, and not a couple of thousands? I mean, you should appreciate that the 'authorities' acted quickly enough to PREVENT the epidemic. I bet you'd be bitching now, if there WAS one and telling us all how you are upset that your government did not step in earlier. |
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| The Highroller |
yaaaaaay ebay stuff gonna cost more now :rolleyes: :D
that's the only thing that pisses me off about the whole situation. |
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| Alccode |
HAHAHA.
You know, when it comes to global mass media, I always had a feeling that things were never the way they portrayed it.
But this SARS event just made it obviously real for me.
You know, this SARS "scare" is hilarious for me.
The possibility for getting SARS in public is almost nonexistent. It is contained in the medical sector, mainly in the Scarborough area.
You get that? Go read it again. Every time I see someone with a mask in the subway, I have to strain to not burst out laughing at how they have sucked up the media like an ignorant fool.
SARS is hardly an epidemic. It's not even close. I'm also appalled at the World Health Organization, beginning to doubt whether they are even "experts" at all. Sad, that in today's world those who are branded "experts" are hardly experts at all. Usually they're just people paid by a government. I'm thinking that there must be some sort of political motive behind the WHO warning (perhaps US "revenge" against Canada? lol, just a thought). I mean, WHO never issued a travel advisory warning to the Congo during the Ebola virus epidemic, for god's sake.
Occrider, regarding that article, that incident occured about a week ago, and the 10-day incubation period is almost gone, if not gone already. Unless you see a huge spike in SARS cases in Toronto by this weekend, then you can dismiss that article as baloney. This is not speculation, it is FACT.
If you do not get the disease in 10 days then you will never get it as this is the incubation period. So the media can bark all it wants.
Ugh, quddha said it the best. "Whatever, more parking space for me." :D :D
People, think for a second about why the media always has "horror" stories like this on their front covers (or main pages on the internet). It's because people like to hear about tragic events. Thus they get rich. Isn't it sick? They feed off the public's fear. Disgusting.
E.g. - airplane crashes are incredibly rare and the chances of dying in an commercial airline jet are lower than getting hit and dying from lightning. And yet the general public idea is that commercial jets are "dangerous." Of course, this is incredibly ridiculous. Anyone with a normal mind that does even a fraction of research into how commercial jets operate and how they are made will instantly dispell any ignorant fears they had.
Anyway the point of the above example is that the media creates the public opinion. So don't trust the media - is the point of this post. :)
(BTW I am living in Toronto so I know firsthand that this SARS thing is pretty much utter bull.) |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by drizzt81
you should appreciate that the 'authorities' acted quickly enough to PREVENT the epidemic. I bet you'd be bitching now, if there WAS one and telling us all how you are upset that your government did not step in earlier. |
Yes but the disease isn't as bad as people make it out to be in the first place. Sure it wouldnt be pleasent to get but i dont see it as much different from a bad flu.
Below is posted the symptoms for both influenza and SARS both lifted from the Centre for Disease Control's website....
SARS Symptoms:
In general, SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F [>38.0°C]. Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.
Influenza Symptoms:
Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious disease that is caused by the influenza virus. It attacks the respiratory tract in humans (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu is different from a cold. Influenza usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms:
Fever
Headache
Tiredness (can be extreme)
Dry cough
Sore throat
Nasal congestion
Body aches
CAN YOU SEE A DIFFERANCE HERE? I CAN'T!!! And i am willing to bet that they both have the same percentage of death rate! |
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| drizzt81 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Yes but the disease isn't as bad as people make it out to be in the first place. Sure it wouldnt be pleasent to get but i dont see it as much different from a bad flu.
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with the difference that there are passive immunizations for a lot of flu strains, not so for SARS.
The 'flu' is a well known and well studied virus, hence it isn't anything that 'we' cannot deal with right now. If a new flu epidemic were to break out, the government could go ahead and force you to get immunized, which would contain it.. done.
not so with SARS - at this point.
| quote: |
Below is posted the symptoms for both influenza and SARS both lifted from the Centre for Disease Control's website....
[snip]
CAN YOU SEE A DIFFERANCE HERE? I CAN'T!!! And i am willing to bet that they both have the same percentage of death rate! |
Are you willing to bet your LIFE on that?
I am not trying to defend "the media frenzy". I completely see your point. I hate that 'the media' has to overhype everything and anything, but in this case, I think that it may not be a generally bad thing, since it may prevent the disease from spreading at least until scienctist have a vaccine. |
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| Jayx1 |
| If flu vaccines worked, there would be no more flu. As it is they only work sometimes. I'm not going to go out and try to get sars but im not going to panic if i get it which most likely will not happen. Its great that they are containing it but i think the hype is rediculous. |
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| drizzt81 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
If flu vaccines worked, there would be no more flu. As it is they only work sometimes. I'm not going to go out and try to get sars but im not going to panic if i get it which most likely will not happen. Its great that they are containing it but i think the hype is rediculous. |
with all vaccines there is a small 'restrisiko' (damn, i do not know the english word .. residual risk??)
anyway. I am not saying that you should go out and try to get either the flu or SARS, I think that people who walk around with face masks are idiots and believe in media hype too much, but due to the 'media hype' a lot of people know about it and therefore are more likely to seek the right treatment, if they get sick -> the 'small' death rate that you believe there is. |
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| occrider |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Yes but the disease isn't as bad as people make it out to be in the first place. Sure it wouldnt be pleasent to get but i dont see it as much different from a bad flu.
Below is posted the symptoms for both influenza and SARS both lifted from the Centre for Disease Control's website....
SARS Symptoms:
In general, SARS begins with a fever greater than 100.4°F [>38.0°C]. Other symptoms may include headache, an overall feeling of discomfort, and body aches. Some people also experience mild respiratory symptoms. After 2 to 7 days, SARS patients may develop a dry cough and have trouble breathing.
Influenza Symptoms:
Influenza, also known as the flu, is a contagious disease that is caused by the influenza virus. It attacks the respiratory tract in humans (nose, throat, and lungs). The flu is different from a cold. Influenza usually comes on suddenly and may include these symptoms:
Fever
Headache
Tiredness (can be extreme)
Dry cough
Sore throat
Nasal congestion
Body aches
CAN YOU SEE A DIFFERANCE HERE? I CAN'T!!! And i am willing to bet that they both have the same percentage of death rate! |
Yes they have similar symptoms and mortality rates but the danger lies in it affecting the mass population. If you remember back to 1917 before flu vaccines, the spanish influenza killed something like 20 million people world wide.
So what if people wear masks? Why wait until the a situation deteriorates into something as bad as Hong Kong before it's "ok" to wear a mask? One guy infected an entire apartment complex over there. I'm not saying this is going to happen in toronto, but better safe than sorry ... |
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| GeneDefekt |
Awww, look at the cute little puzzyyy!!!
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| occrider |
Additionally, apparentely the virus is mutating and is becoming more dangerous:
| quote: |
Officials in the former British colony -- the hardest-hit area along with mainland China -- on Thursday revised the death rate from SARS to 7.2 percent from 5 percent.
Some experts say it could rise higher because the rate is calculated by including those patients still being treated in hospital.
While 614 people out of 1,510 have recovered in the territory of 6.7 million people, 105 are still in intensive care. Hong Kong reported six more deaths on Friday, bringing its toll to 115.
Beyond Hong Kong, experts are unable to explain why SARS seems more virulent, with the global mortality rate creeping up to 5.9 percent from less than 4 percent three weeks ago.
Worldwide, there are now over 4,000 cases, and more than 250 people have died from the virus, a respiratory infection caused by a relative of a common cold virus.
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiap...sars/index.html
Nobody knows how bad this "epidemic" is going to be because we don't even fully understand the virus. If the virus has spread from China to Southeast Asia, to South America, to Europe, to the Canada, and to the US how can you be sure that the virus will be contained in Toronto? Obviously some people aren't taking the virus seriously enough since potential victims aren't remaining in quarantine.
I agree the WHO acted prematurely by declaring a warning against toronto. But I think the more media coverage of this virus there is the better. More people will take it seriously and more people will take preventative steps from getting infected. There's no reason to take this disease lightly and then regret it when it's reached epidemic proportions. |
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| drizzt81 |
| quote: | Originally posted by occrider
Additionally, apparentely the virus is mutating and is becoming more dangerous:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiap...sars/index.html
Nobody knows how bad this "epidemic" is going to be because we don't even fully understand the virus. If the virus has spread from China to Southeast Asia, to South America, to Europe, to the Canada, and to the US how can you be sure that the virus will be contained in Toronto? Obviously some people aren't taking the virus seriously enough since potential victims aren't remaining in quarantine.
I agree the WHO acted prematurely by declaring a warning against toronto. But I think the more media coverage of this virus there is the better. More people will take it seriously and more people will take preventative steps from getting infected. There's no reason to take this disease lightly and then regret it when it's reached epidemic proportions. |
woot someone else with a brain. |
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| Wurm |
| quote: | Originally posted by drizzt81
There are 200 people who have been IDENTIFIED with SARS... that is different from 200 people with SARS.
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There has been a masssive public education campaign on the symptoms, so everyone is ultra-sensitive about every little head cold.
There is no test for the disease, just a set of clinical conditions, so there hasn't been anyone in the world IDENTIFIED with SARS. It's all 'probable' or 'suspected'.
People aren't crying out 'bring out your dead' yet, noe will it come to that.
Check the recent mortality figures for influenza for the past few weeks. Waaayyyy higher than SARS. But no hype, cuz it's not new. |
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