From The Star, Malaysia
2 April 2003

Measures that can curb spread of SARS

DR HSU DAR REN of Kuala Lumpur (via e-mail) writes:

THE outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in several
countries in East Asia is frightening and alarming.

Seldom in the history of medicine did a disease spread as fast and as
widely as this recent outbreak, thanks to globalisation and jet
travel.

Though we have no confirmed cases in our country as yet, we must not
be complacent and we must be proactive in taking preventive measures
to prevent this deadly disease from spreading among our population.

I wish to congratulate the Health Ministry for being proactive in
sending a medical team to Singapore to get first-hand knowledge from
the doctors treating the disease there.

And as I understand, government medical personnel are being provided
with disease preventing masks, and briefed on safety procedures to
adopt. The ministry has also sent out circulars to all practising
doctors to look out for this disease. All these must be commended.

In this age of borderless travel, it is inevitable that the disease
will surface in our country. To prevent it from spreading once it
comes in, I would like to suggest a few measures.

The ministry and hospital authorities must be transparent in reporting
and handling of this case. Since this is a new and unknown virus and
there are actually no confirmatory tests as yet, any suspected case of
SARS must be classified as SARS.

Remember, SARS at the moment is a syndrome, the diagnosis of which is
based solely on clinical grounds. So any suspected cases, which fit in
the clinical pictures of this syndrome, must be reported as a case of
SARS.

Adopt quarantine measures immediately and effectively once a case is
diagnosed as SARS. Until such time when we have a definitively
treatment, and for viruses there is actually none, this is the only
way to prevent the disease from spreading in the community.

However harsh this may seem, for the common good of the community,
individual freedom has to be restricted.

Increase surveillance in the ports of entry. All passengers embarking
and disembarking should be screened for fever. Any sick passenger must
be immediately separated and observed.

Educate the public about good personal habits. Washing hands before
touching ourselves or before eating has always been a good habit to
prevent illness.

The problem is most hand-washing is not done correctly. The most
important area that we should wash is the tips of our fingers which
are the parts we actually use when we touch something.

Proper ways of washing hands should be taught through TV and
classrooms. It is also a good habit to cover and our mouth nose when
we sneeze.

Hospital visits should be restricted. Non-essential visits to wards
should not be allowed until such time when the crisis is over.
Similarly, the public should be discouraged from travelling overseas
unless it is really essential.

Every effort must be made to contain this disease even though some
measures may seem unpopular and harsh. All of us must co-operate and
help the Government in dealing with this disease, which can strike
anyone regardless of age, sex or social status.

Prevention is always better than cure. In this case, there is no cure
and prevention is our only hope to fight the spread of this disease.

http://thestar.com.my/