“Today, diseases as common as the cold and as rare as Ebola
are circling the globe with near telephonic speed, making long-distance
connections and intercontinental infections almost as if by satellite. You
needn’t even bother to reach out and touch someone. If you live, if you’re
homoeothermic biomass, you will be reached and touched” (Angier, 2001).
Introduction:
In his TED talk, Goldin (2009) mentions that globalisation
has caused the world to become more complex and functionally integrated. This
means that local events may have global consequences. Globalisation, the
increase of “flows and influences of capital and goods, information and ideas,
and people and forces, as well as environmentally and biologically relevant
substances” across multi-continental distances, has facilitated the spread of
emerging infectious diseases around the world (Keohane & Nye, 2000). Using
the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 as a case study,
this essay seeks to discuss that contemporary globalisation has resulted in greater
human mobility which contributes to the spread of the virus to 37 countries
within weeks. This essay will also evaluate the measures taken to tackle this
global health threat.
Human mobility:
Armelagos and Harper (2010) assert that we are witnessing a
re-emergence of infectious diseases due to anthropogenic factors. As a result
of globalisation and technological advances, more people are becoming mobile
with the ability to travel more frequently as well as visit areas that used to
be remote and inaccessible (Wilson, 2007). According to the World Tourism
Organization (2014), more than a billion tourists travelled outside their
countries in 2013. This is notwithstanding the undocumented travellers,
internal migrants and the millions more who crossed national borders for other
reasons.
With a highly efficient transportation system, it is now
possible to reach most places in the world within two days which corresponds with
the incubation period of most infectious diseases (Wilson, 2007). Incubation period
is defined as the “time between catching an infection and symptoms appearing” (NHS,
2014). Furthermore, travel often involves multiple shared spaces such as
airplanes and hotels, where people from different origins congregate together
before moving to different destinations. These networks of global travel become
conduits for pathogen transmissions, allowing infectious diseases to spread
quickly and extensively.
The rapid dispersal of SARS in 2003 is an apposite example of
how the world’s interconnectedness has facilitated the spread of the virus.
SARS first appeared in Guangdong province of China on November 2002 and was subsequently
reported outside of the country on March 2003. The outbreak was traced back to
a Chinese doctor who had been treating patients with ‘atypical pneumonia’ in
Guangdong and stayed on the ninth floor of Hong Kong’s Metropole Hotel. Other
international guests who stayed on the same floor soon became infected with the
virus. These guests who felt well at the beginning travelled out of Hong Kong,
bringing the virus into Canada, Vietnam and Singapore. In the next few months,
SARS spread to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North and
South America. By the time the outbreak was contained, there were a total of
8,437 known cases with 813 fatalities (Mwambi & Zuma, 2007).
Responding to SARS:
In response to the outbreak, the World Health Organization
(WHO) (2003b) issued an international health warning on SARS and travel
advisories to regions affected by the virus on March 2003. The agency also
recommended screening of air passengers departing from certain affected areas
in an attempt to prevent travel-related spread of SARS (World Health
Organization, 2003c).
The SARS outbreak highlighted limitations the WHO encountered
in identifying and controlling its spread. Based on international health regulations
in 2003, countries were only required to notify the agency of yellow fever,
cholera and plague outbreaks (Federation of American Scientists, 2003). It then
had the authority to intervene and restrict trans-boundary movements. With
other diseases however, the WHO can only take on an advisory role which means
that the organisation has a limited ability to respond to SARS. The global
health threat was exacerbated when the Chinese government failed to report promptly
and openly about SARS (Huang, 2004). Moreover, not everyone is willing to
cooperate with WHO’s guidelines. For instance, despite being suspected of
having SARS, a man still managed to board his plane (Federation of American
Scientists, 2003). While some view freedom of movement as a human right, others
question the ethics in issuing SARS related travel advisories or compulsory
quarantines (Paquin, 2007; Teo, Yeoh & Ong, 2005).
Since 2003, the WHO (2003a) has taken a stronger role in
coordinating and leading the fight against any infectious disease that
threatens global health. This can be seen in 2013, when a new SARS-like virus
was promptly reported to the WHO which later issued an international alert (Sutton,
2013). I believe that with global cooperation and mobilisation, global health
security can be enhanced when “global solidarity is placed above national
sovereignty” (Heymann, 2006). As individuals, we can all play a part by being
responsible global citizens who prioritise societal rights over individual liberties
in the event of an outbreak.
Conclusion:
Diseases transcend boundaries. As the world becomes more complex coupled with the unprecedented volume, reach and speed of human mobility, the risk of emerging infectious diseases transmitting around the world is set to rise. However, the very interconnectedness that allows pathogens to spread globally offers mechanisms to address global health threats. With the WHO spearheading medical responses around the world, countries’ governments have to do their part by making disease surveillance and response a priority.
Diseases transcend boundaries. As the world becomes more complex coupled with the unprecedented volume, reach and speed of human mobility, the risk of emerging infectious diseases transmitting around the world is set to rise. However, the very interconnectedness that allows pathogens to spread globally offers mechanisms to address global health threats. With the WHO spearheading medical responses around the world, countries’ governments have to do their part by making disease surveillance and response a priority.
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