We must fully prepared for any new outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome this winter. Four months have passed since the World Health Organization declared that SARS was under control. The WHO is of the opinion that even if SARS flares up again, infection will not spread as long as countries take appropriate measures. But there are many things that we do not understand about SARS, and no reliable medicine or vaccine has been developed.
A revision of the infectious disease law, which went into effect last week, strengthens the authority of the government in its response to contagious diseases, and local governments and medical institutions throughout the country are conducting drills that deal with a hypothetical outbreak of SARS. But there is a lot that individual persons can do, too.
As a measure to protect elderly people, influenza vaccinations are highly recommended. One of the outstanding characteristics of SARS is the high death rate among elderly persons. Of the 8,918 patients reported to the WHO, 774 people died. In other words, about one in every 10 patients dies. This is slightly higher than the death rate of 7.1 percent for tuberculosis patients in Japan. For people aged 65 or over, the death rate for SARS jumps to more than 50 percent. The younger the age group, the lower the death rate. For people aged 24 or under, the death rate is less than 1 percent. Thus, preventing infection among elderly persons is extremely important.