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Just feeling thoughtful here...I haven't heard from anyone on these threads who personally knows someone who has Lung Dung (my name for SARS) or who has personally seen a case of it in a professional capacity.

Right now, it's far away, even though Canada has some cases, and we're all removed by the TV screen or the computer page from the contagion. The portion of people who have it are remote, foreign, and miniscule compared to the world population.

I think as it spreads in rural China and India outward to the rest of the world, that we'll still all feel remote. One of the talking heads on Fox today said that SARS symptoms are similar to a very bad cold, with fever thrown in...will we even know, before it's too late?

People come to work sick, go to parties sick, take the kids out to the community center sick, go to class sick...as SARS concerns die down this summer--and I think they will--people are going to think we've dodged the bullet. They will attribute the lack of American deaths to superior hygiene, superior diets, superior standard of living, superior medical care, superior whatever.

But I do think we're going to have to face it this fall and winter. I wonder if our public officials will be any more honest and forthcoming than Chinese officials and Canadian mayors?