The story of how a 26 year old lab worker ruined my friends holiday...

Once upon a time two friends decided they were going to go to the beautiful island of Hainan, off the south coast of China, during the national holiday in May. They were both very excited and were looking forward to the sea, sand and surf. A few weeks before they were due to go, one of them, let's call her S, started to feel ill. Nothing serious, just a nasty cough that was persisting. Only a few days before they were due to leave, S decided that there was no way she could go to Hainan. 'Why? Was she feeling worse?' No, in fact she was feeling much better with just a niggly cough that would sometimes creep up on her at night. 'So why did she cancel?'

Ah hah! This bring me to the 26 year old lab worker, from Anhui province. During two weeks in March, this laboratory worker got what she probably thought was excellent experience, working at the Chinese National Institute of Virology in Beijing. This institute is known to be engaged in research involving the SARS coronavirus. On March 25th she became ill. 'Oh my god, did they isolate her, what with the chance of SARS?' No. They sent her to a normal hospital. She was attended by nurses and her mother.

Her mother then returned to Anhui province. 'What? They allowed her mother to travel to another province at the risk of infecting other people?' Yes. She later died. Then, surprise surprise, a nurse who was attending the lab worker became ill. The WHO have classified the nurse and the researcher as probable cases of SARS.

Another lab worker, a 31 year old, was hospitalised in isolation last week as a suspected case of SARS. Not before however, 300 people who have possibly come into contact with the disease, have been identified and put under medical observation. Which brings me to my friend...

She is worried that when she goes to the airport she will be put under medical observation for 2 weeks without being able to see her family and friends... because she has a cough. 'Thats a bit crazy isn't it? Just because of a cough?' You might say that, especially because she has been checked out by a doctor who has confirmed that she does not have SARS. Her reasoning? The same thing happened to her mother during the last outbreak of SARS.

Actually, it's not right to blame the lab worker. Did the doctors and health authorities not consider that a lab worker with similar symptoms to SARS, who is working in an environment where it is possible that she could be exposed to it, should be placed in isolation just in case? Perhaps if they had, they could have saved the life of an innocent woman and the possible life of a young nurse in intensive care.

And my friends' holiday.

26.4.04 06:15