Coordinated effort ends SARS scare

The World Health Organization earlier this month declared that SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that has killed more than 800 people worldwide, has been contained.

Taiwan was the last SARS-infected area, but it has recorded no new cases for more than a month. It's true that there are still about 200 SARS patients that have been identified, but the health organization said the isolation of those cases within the hospitals convinced them that the chain of contagion is under control.

Naturally, this comes as a relief.

SARS made 8,400 people around the world -- including 73 people in the United States -- sick to varying degrees. Some of the key symptoms were a cough and low-grade fever. About 80 percent of the victims were in China, where the disease originated late last year.

"We can finally return to our normal lives," said Taiwanese Premier Yu Shyi-kun.

True. People can finally get back on airplanes, where infected people unwittingly transported the disease, without fear of contraction.

The hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents can now take off the surgical masks they have been wearing for protection and inhale fresh air when they breathe a sigh of relief.

The rest of us, at least for now, can quit scanning the headlines for new outbreak locations and death totals.

Those responsible should be thanked. Health care workers who treated SARS patients themselves should be given medals. In many cases, the doctors and nurses and health assistants contracted the disease and, as a group, were among those hit hardest.

The health-care workers and government bodies must be commended for a great job under the most trying of circumstances.

This has been an example of a worldwide effort to stop a disease, and it's worked.

A few examples of the process:

WHO issued warnings so people would know places to avoid, helping to contain the disease to certain areas. That angered many in places that depend heavily on tourism. But health-care leaders were right in asking: Where would we be if WHO hadn't done this?

Passengers moving through airports in SARS-hit areas were screened for fever with infrared heat detectors. Those measures will stay in place for the time being.

Several thousand people were placed in quarantine, a sad situation for them, but one that helped ensure that the disease did not spread further.

Information flowed freely between health-care groups and governments and was passed on to the public in a timely fashion. That is the only way such a contagious disease can be curbed.

The death toll was heavy and economic impact was unfortunate. But it could have been much worse if panic had taken over instead of cool heads, quick thinking and proper procedure.

There are lingering fears that SARS could return. If it does, we have some confidence that the right people are on the job. Next time they will be even better prepared.