Year: 2004
Type: editorial
Abstract: Last March, I (Laurie Gottlieb) travelled by train from Montreal to Toronto.As the train approached Toronto, tension hung in the air.People spoke in hushed tones about SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and about their fear of visiting a city under siege.This was the rst inkling I had of the magnitude of the crisis.I had come to Toronto to conduct a focus group session.As the group convened, participants greeted each other with a nod rather than the customary handshake or hug.A few used a hand disinfectant before leaving the meeting.Nobody ate the food.Toronto was caught up in SARS hysteria.Canada was the hardest-hit country outside of the Asian Paci c region.An in uenza that had "smouldered" in China was transported to Toronto, carried by a Canadian citizen returning from a visit to Hong Kong.Both mainland China and Hong Kong had been dealing with SARS for several months.The international crisis lasted many months, with 8,500 persons diagnosed with probable SARS and 900 deaths attributed to SARS worldwide (Naylor, 2003).The in uenza's lack of respect for borders served to underscore the fact that the world has become a village.In many ways it is fortuitous that Toronto and Hong Kong were the centres of this outbreak.These two cosmopolitan cities, with their know-how and wealth of resources, struggled to cope with the crisis.If these modern, sophisticated cities had dif culty coping, what would have happened elsewhere?Both cities were humbled by the experience, ill prepared to deal with a health threat of this magnitude.To their credit, they have revisited the SARS experience and have learned from its lessons.The challenges faced in Toronto were not that dissimilar to those faced in Hong Kong.The deadly SARS epidemic exposed the inner workings of the health-care and related systems, and much was found wanting.The various systems proved vulnerable and lacking the capacity and exibility necessary to adapt quickly and ef ciently to a situation that was unpredictable and constantly changing.Despite their different health-care systems, forms of government, cultures, infrastructures, and communications systems, Canada and Hong
Source: PubMed
Authors: Laurie N Gottlieb, Judith Shamian, Sophia Chan
Language: English
Subfield: Issues, ethics and legal aspects
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2275566328