Some idiot on CNN compared SARS to cancer and AIDS (and: don't go to Toronto!)

[AndrewR]

I swear, how few brain cells do you need to be put on television news?

The gist is that the Toronto mayor is mad because the World Health Organization issued a travel advisory to Toronto because of SARS (fairly sure that's an accurate statement, correct me if I'm wrong). So, the mayor states that this advisory is unprecedented for WHO. This CNN wonk gets on and says that, why yes it is unprecendented. To bolster his opinion, he uses facts related to the spread of AIDS and the incidence of cancer in the United States.

While he acknowledges that AIDS and cancer aren't spread nearly as easily as SARS (don't touch me -- you might give me your cancer!), he still insists that the numbers are telling. He doesn't actually explain why they are -- he just says they are. He also fails to mention that SARS has only been circulating for maybe six months and actually less than that when you consider its movement outside of China alone (since we're talking about Canada) while the other two have years and years of history.

I could have sworn at one point that CNN was a credible news source. Now? If that wasn't sensational journalism, I really don't know what is.

 

[iwearnosox]

I wish some plague would hit california, there's way too many people out here hogging the jobs and houses.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

Indeed.

 

[Howard]

I can understand the mayor's feelings. And, in Toronto, there are some anti-Chinese sentiments, and I don't understand why.

 

[Digobick]

Was it this guy?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Originally posted by: Digobick
Was it this guy?

LOL.....they didn't spell his name right one of the two times... Read this:

Dr Patrick Dickson called on world governments to act to stamp out the threat from the deadly respiratory illness.

Dr Dixon, one of Europe's experts on predicting global trends, said it could be more dangerous than AIDS because of its ability to spread quickly.

 

[Looney]

The gist is that the Toronto mayor is mad because the World Health Organization issued a travel advisory to Toronto because of SARS (fairly sure that's an accurate statement, correct me if I'm wrong).

You're right. Mayor Mel Lastman is a blue collar man (or he portrays himself as one... he owns the really cheesy furniture store Bad Boys) that somehow won the mayorship years ago... anyways, he went on TV last night and was literally screaming at being put on the WHO advisory list.

But you know, 2 days ago i would have agreed with you... but since Toronto was listed, i've been curious why the medical experts have taken this so serious... and it is scary. The thing is, it has a 5% death rate... which is 100x more than ordinary flu. It is just as highly contagious as ordinary flu, and there is absolutely NO cure or treatment for it... and they don't know if they're going to come up with one in time if it does breakout. They're completely baffled by it atm. So imagine if we had a season of SARs with the numbers infected being as high as the flu... but it would definitely be higher, since about 30% of the population always get vaccinated with the flu each year, and there is no vaccination for SARs just yet. It's actually a very scary prospect. Will it destroy society like in The Stand? No, but we're going to get a repeat of the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, where 500,000 in the US died, and 20million worldwide died. And it would actually be worst. Medical experts see SARs as very similar to the Spanish flu... both in it's structure and the way it's spreading (just like back then, there were no treatments for it, and no treatment now).

 

[Ylen13]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

Indeed.

no thanks, our er are under staff and overloaded anyway so we don't need any sars to hti us trust me

 

[Looney]

I was a firm believer that it was all hype until Toronto was listed on the WHO advisory list... i even flamed people here for being so paranoid about it. But now that i've actually researched more about it, it's damn scary. I live about 30 mins from Toronto, so i'm getting hit by it on the news daily... i won't change my habits (just yet at least), and i still go to the gym regularly despite what people say (and i noticed my gym is less crowded these days), but i really do believe now that this isn't reactionary. We better hope (and pray for those that are religious) that this doesn't spread like a normal flu season... because if it does, we really are going to have tens, if not hundreds of millions dead.

 

[Nemesis77]

AIDS: about 100% mortality-rate (in the end)
Cancer: 20-30% mortality-rate? (really don't know)
SARS: 3-5% mortality-rate

SARS does spread more easily, I'll admit that. But it couldn't really be compared to AIDS on cancer.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Nemesis77
AIDS: about 100% mortality-rate (in the end)
Cancer: 20-30% mortality-rate? (really don't know)
SARS: 3-5% mortality-rate

SARS does spread more easily, I'll admit that. But it couldn't really be compared to AIDS on cancer.

AIDs doesn't kill people itself... it's what it does to the immune system, and then infections that kill people. With today's treatment, people can live a normal life with it (ie Magic Johnson). And the number of new AIDs cases in industrial nations are falling.

Cancer has a high mortality-rate... but 20-30%? Hm i don't know about that. But in either case, it affects a VERY small portion of the population... and isn't contagious at all.

SARS has 5% mortality rate... and is highly infections. Very similar to the flu and common cold. It's only been a couple of months since it's been out of China, and already it's killed over 200. And there is no cure for it, and they're completely baffled (which is a word that i'm running into a lot while reading up on this) by it. There are 3 things that concern the medical community... how high the mortality rate is... how contagious it is... and how effective are treatments. SARS scares the experts on all 3 fronts. Mortality rate is 100x that of normal flu. It is extremely infectious, like the common cold. And there's no cure or vaccine for it, and none in sight.

400 worldwide deathrate is nothing... but if SARS spreads like the common cold does each year, we could be in VERY serious trouble.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: AndrewR
I swear, how few brain cells do you need to be put on television news?

The gist is that the Toronto mayor is mad because the World Health Organization issued a travel advisory to Toronto because of SARS (fairly sure that's an accurate statement, correct me if I'm wrong). So, the mayor states that this advisory is unprecedented for WHO. This CNN wonk gets on and says that, why yes it is unprecendented. To bolster his opinion, he uses facts related to the spread of AIDS and the incidence of cancer in the United States.

While he acknowledges that AIDS and cancer aren't spread nearly as easily as SARS (don't touch me -- you might give me your cancer!), he still insists that the numbers are telling. He doesn't actually explain why they are -- he just says they are. He also fails to mention that SARS has only been circulating for maybe six months and actually less than that when you consider its movement outside of China alone (since we're talking about Canada) while the other two have years and years of history.

I could have sworn at one point that CNN was a credible news source. Now? If that wasn't sensational journalism, I really don't know what is.

This is the worst possible way you could have intrepreted what he said. The point Jack was trying to make is there is a lot of hysteria over SARS (which he blamed the media for), but it is still more likely for any one American to get cancer or AIDS. He then asked viewers to e-mail and say why they more worried about one disease or another.

 

[CraigRT]

I'd go to Toronto... I don't think it's that big of a deal...

 

[wnied]

don't go to Toronto!

I've been to Toronto Three times since their outbreak of SARS. Twice to see a hockey game, and once on business. I never once gave SARS a thought when I traveled there. Personally I think its a buncha "Phooey."

"Cough" "Cough!"
~wnied~

 

[Night201]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

So you admit that you are an idiot?

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

Where'd you get the 120 cases in the US? According to CNN it's only 39. Text

 

[yllus]

I travel from one end of Toronto's main subway line to the heart of downtown, go to a major university located there and then travel all the way back.

I'm not a doctor, but other than slight allergies I'm pretty sure I'm okay...and this is pretty ridiculous.

 

[vtqanh]

SARS is dangerous because of our limited knowledge of it. Obviously, you wouldn't compare flu with AIDS or cancer. But look at how many ppl flu killed in 1918-1919? Back in that time, we knew little about it, we did not have any vaccine against it. The situation is the same right now with SARS.

 

[tcsenter]

I swear, how few brain cells do you need to be put on television news?

The gist is that the Toronto mayor is mad because the World Health Organization issued a travel advisory to Toronto because of SARS (fairly sure that's an accurate statement, correct me if I'm wrong). So, the mayor states that this advisory is unprecedented for WHO. This CNN wonk gets on and says that, why yes it is unprecendented. To bolster his opinion, he uses facts related to the spread of AIDS and the incidence of cancer in the United States.

I don't see what your beef is, at least according to your telling of their statements. I didn't see the broadcast.

The WHO's travel advisory is rather unprecedented in that it urges people not to travel to a developed modern nation due to risk of contracting/spreading an illness. The contrast with AIDs and cancer is more likely made out of ignorance, not sensationalism.

I'm not sure you can sensationalize the potential risk of SARS enough. Its time to follow proven effective 100 year-old public health measures to limit outbreaks and the spread of potentially lethal communicable disease. I'm sure Typhoid Mary's feelings were all hurt about being forced to be confined to her home and prohibited from having contact with the general population, but it was the right thing to do until public health officials could get a handle things and better understand what they were dealing with.

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

I swear, how few brain cells do you need to be put on television news?

The gist is that the Toronto mayor is mad because the World Health Organization issued a travel advisory to Toronto because of SARS (fairly sure that's an accurate statement, correct me if I'm wrong). So, the mayor states that this advisory is unprecedented for WHO. This CNN wonk gets on and says that, why yes it is unprecendented. To bolster his opinion, he uses facts related to the spread of AIDS and the incidence of cancer in the United States.

I don't see what your beef is, at least according to your telling of their statements. I didn't see the broadcast.

The WHO's travel advisory is rather unprecedented in that it urges people not to travel to a developed modern nation due to risk of contracting/spreading an illness. The contrast with AIDs and cancer is more likely made out of ignorance, not sensationalism.

I'm not sure you can sensationalize the potential risk of SARS enough. Its time to follow proven effective 100 year-old public health measures to limit outbreaks and the spread of potentially lethal communicable disease. I'm sure Typhoid Mary's feelings were all hurt about being forced to be confined to her home and prohibited from having contact with the general population, but it was the right thing to do until public health officials could get a handle things and better understand what they were dealing with.

My "beef" is that this guy used the higher numbers of two conditions, one of which is not contagious, to assess the validity of a travel advisory issued by WHO for a disease which is highly contagious through even casual contact. Last I checked, sexual intercourse is not casual contact (well, to some it is I suppose). Comparing it to cancer? The incidence of AIDS and cancer has absolutely no bearing on whether or not the travel advisory issued by WHO is valid. It was wholly and completely irresponsible journalism.

I'm not a doctor, but other than slight allergies I'm pretty sure I'm okay...and this is pretty ridiculous.

So, YOU didn't get it; therefore, there's no problem? Damn glad you aren't involved in public health decisions.

The point Jack was trying to make is there is a lot of hysteria over SARS (which he blamed the media for), but it is still more likely for any one American to get cancer or AIDS.

The reason why there isn't as much of a problem with SARS in the United States at this point is because there is a form of hysteria ongoing, and that public officials have instituted policies to restrict the outbreak from making a significant impact in the States. My cousin contracted SARS while in Hong Kong and brought it back to the States, but he was quarantined and recovered without infecting anyone else.

The threat of SARS is far from gone. It will likely get worse in China before it gets better, and it has the potential to get much worse if it reaches more of the countryside. I am very glad that it hasn't reached the shores of Okinawa yet.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

Originally posted by: Moralpanic

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
Yup, 120 something cases in the USA and not one death. Sounds like it's right up there with cancer and AIDS to me

Maybe it's time for me to persue a career in TV. Obviously any idiot can do it.

Where'd you get the 120 cases in the US? According to CNN it's only 39. Text

I'd heard that number twice while listening to the little news blurbs durring comercials on the radio yesterday. I just checked it on Fox News' website though and you're number is right. Bad info I guess.

Night201, If your comment was because of my bad info I'm teribly sorry I was wrong. If it was because I don't share your fear over this I'm horribly sorry we don't have the same views. Or if it was because your only redeming quality is your ability to be an ass I'm just sorry for you.

 

[Dudd]

I too thought that it all was just hype, but one of my favorite teachers from elementary school caught SARS after a trip to Toronto. Well, at least I'm 99% sure that he has it. All the local media is saying is that a local teacher caught the disease in the school district that he teaches in, also works as a bartender during the weekends, and is also a Little League Coach. All that matches up- he was even me and my brother's basketball coach when we were in 6th grade. Damn good coach, my brother's team was getting blown out by 20-30 points a game at the beginning of the season, and by the end of the season, they were beating those same teams by 20-30. Although, with a 5% death rate, I doubt a relatively healthy guy like him would die, but still, there are valid reasons behind the WHO advisory.

 

[Tom]

I didn't see the show but I'm trying to understand it..

I gather the mayor thinks the warning is unwarranted.

Now, this guy Jack, he also think it is unwarranted ? Or that it is warranted ?

If he thinks it is unwarranted, was his point about aids and cancer that no such advisory was issued for those and so none should be issued in this case either ?

Or is it that an advisory should have been issued for aids and cancer and wasn't ?

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
I didn't see the show but I'm trying to understand it..

I gather the mayor thinks the warning is unwarranted.

Now, this guy Jack, he also think it is unwarranted ? Or that it is warranted ?

If he thinks it is unwarranted, was his point about aids and cancer that no such advisory was issued for those and so none should be issued in this case either ?

Or is it that an advisory should have been issued for aids and cancer and wasn't ?

Yeah, the mayor think it's unwarranted... thanks to SARS, Toronto businesses are already hit hard. Now with this advisory it's just going to get worst. Even our business was fine until the health inspectors came today... they made us pour bleach on all our products that we got from Toronto just 20 mins ago. I'm going to go to City Hall tomorrow and demand wtf is up.