Editorial

Citation

Wilson, H.C. (2003), "Editorial", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 12 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2003.07312daa.001

Editorial

Such a small thing!

Over the past few months an extremely small piece of material has produced untold panic and mal-practices and demonstrated how our lifestyle could be our undoing.

The SARS virus rapidly spread from the Far East to many countries throughout the world leading to embargoes, failure of disclosure, panic statements, and general mayhem. Our lifestyle is based around communications and international travel. We have a need for instant and constantly available communications systems. We have a commercial and pleasure-based need for quick, reliable international travel.

Information needs to be accurate and without hindrance otherwise it is of little value. Failure to disclose, or denial, that a potentially fatal virus is in existence places our world in jeopardy. International travel is too quick to have governments dilly-dallying on the best time to release information that such a problem exists. We can travel around the world in less than two days, hence, any infected person can be anywhere within a short period of time. During that travel other passengers and aircrew will have been potentially exposed, customs and immigration officials, taxi drivers, hotel staff and guests, family, friends, and the list is longer than that.

With a virus that produces influenza-like symptoms people have a tendency to take to bed for a few days to recover. When that virus is similar to that which produces SARS-like symptoms then that action can be fatal, not only for the patient, but also for the family and friends and other contacts.

With such outbreaks the public demands quick and effective responses from governments and medical services to deliver maximum public protection. This is not an unreasonable, or unexpected, expectation by the public. What they do not expect are delays on release of information, or information that is neither helpful nor correct, or even worse, information that has had political spin added.

With an infection, such as SARS, that begins with such mild symptoms it would be unreasonable to expect everyone with such symptoms to seek immediate medical aid, as the emergency medical services would be swamped within hours.

We are not very good at trans-national co-operation when natural disasters occur so we cannot expect to be good at achieving a co-operative response when faced with problems such as SARS. Despite years of attempting to improve trans-national responses such efforts have not produced any major improvements owing to financial and political concerns. In my opinion, the worst offender is the United Nations which is always behind the times and immediate needs of this world and its people.

One day, our political leaders will wake up to the fact that there is but one Earth and their actions can have an almost immediate effect on every other being on this planet. The effects of their decisions are not contained by geographical or political boundaries. If they need convincing of this they only need to have a look at AIDs and HIV, drought, famine, floods and any other of the trans-national disasters to see how parochial their decisions truly are.

Such a small thing is a virus but before it the mighty equally fall; major governments cower; politicians quake; errors are made; leaders stick their heads in the quagmire of political spin; flat-earth and the "it won't come here" philosophies rule. Please be grateful that a virus cannot think, else it would rule the world.

Henry C. Wilson