SARS

I have been talking to some people here about what it was like living in Tianjin during SARS. Tianjin was involved in the SARS outbreak of 2003. People living here were very afraid. Everyone wore a mask when leaving their homes. Streets and malls, usually packed with people, were deserted for months. If someone coughed while standing at the bus stop, people literally ran away. I haven't heard about food or any other shortages, though I would be surprised if none had existed. Universities closed their campuses. No one was allowed in. One of the epidemiologists here was completing her masters degree at that time. She left one day to visit her parents, who lived nearby. She was not allowed back in. All her books and clothes were in her dorm room, and she had no access to them for 2 months. She tells about how the students would congregate at the University gate and play badmitten with anyone outside. Another epidemiologist here was getting her masters as well. She did her studies for those 2 months by email.

Some good has come out of this time. Public health in China was placed in the spotlight. For the US, public health was strengthened in response to 9-11 and the anthrax mailings. In China, public health has been strengthened in response to SARS. I've been out talking (in a manner of speaking) to rural village leaders, as I've written about in previous blogs. They all know about communicable disease reporting. The oft-repeated statement from the leaders is "Before SARS, no one knows about disease reporting. After SARS, everyone knows."

We talk about and plan for a situation like this with pandemic influenza. China has lived it, and become stronger.