SARS…the story so far: public health and safety implications

Abstract

SARS was the first global health emergency of the 21st Century. The volume of international air travel allowed SARS to spread around the world with unprecedented speed. The full political, economic and social impacts of SARS are only just starting to be measured and reported on. The close interdependence of economies and markets certainly appeared to amplify the economic impact of SARS considerably. The airlines and travel industry were hit very hard, especially in Asia, where they had already suffered severely from terrorism and the Iraq war. SARS emphasized the nature of the global village where an outbreak of a disease in one country can lead to an outbreak in another country. In the case of SARS, it will be important to aim for elimination of the source of the virus. The question is, can this be achieved?