I’m in the middle of a SARS epidemic in Toronto, though things are looking more under control now. In the meantime, this article of mine has just been published.
SARS has made thousands of people around the world sick, and has killed hundreds. But are fears of contracting SARS greatly overblown? The alarm that is being raised by health authorities worldwide is not so much because of the present danger posed by the disease, but because the potential threat of SARS could be very high indeed.
The new millennium was entered into in the midst of much euphoria and optimism, when the world’s worst fear then was the Y2K bug that proved to be generally benign. However, the events of the new millennium so far have done much to temper such lofty expectations. Just as the post-9/11 economy has begun to implement added security measures as part of daily economic activities, the post-SARS economy will adopt additional health care measures into the routine of life.
The use of broadband communications technologies to work at home will become more widespread. Firms will reduce their dependency on travel in their operations, and increase the use of technology where possible to replace travel. The healthcare sector is also poised to undergo significant restructuring, since SARS has highlighted many weaknesses in the current system.
Just as the greater war on terrorism is likely to carry on after the elimination of any particular terrorist group, the even broader war on disease will carry on after SARS. But even a defeated SARS will have provided us with a timely reminder that this particular struggle is far from over, or perhaps even impossible to overcome entirely.
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