Critical reflection: Writing and English process

At the beginning of this semester, I thought that I would not benefit much from this class since this is an introductory module to academic writing and I have been writing academic essays for five semesters. However, I still feel that I have learned a lot as the tutorials are presented in a systematic manner with resource lists and the assignments are quite different from other modules’. One aspect that is new and challenging for me is conceptualising and writing the problem-solution essay. So far, all the essays I have written are argumentative-based and do not follow a fixed format.

One aspect from this module that stands out from the rest is the one-to-one review sessions. I really appreciate the time and effort the tutor has spent on reviewing my reader response and essay drafts. The comments given are thoughtful and have helped me to become more aware of and improve my writing.

Although there are times when I question my decision to postpone this module until Year 3, I am pleased that I have the opportunity to hone my academic writing skills by myself. Writing is an essential component in academia, the workplace and everyday life. Therefore, it is crucial that we as individuals are able to write effectively.

Presentation

Presentation should be incorporated into ES1102 because I believe that it will be a beneficial experience for the students. After all, it is an essential component in academia as well as the workplace. By presenting their essay to an audience, I feel that students will have a better grasp on their content and understand how to deliver it effectively. They will also get to be more aware of their body language and verbal delivery such as clarity and speed. Having feedback from peers on top of teacher feedback allows students to learn from each other.

Globalisation and Emerging Infectious Diseases (Final)

“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 suggests 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 demonstrates that contemporary globalisation has resulted in greater human mobility, which may contribute to the rapid spread of the virus around the world. 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 does not include 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” (National Health Service, 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 a good example of how the world’s interconnectedness has facilitated the spread of the virus. SARS first appeared in Guangdong province of China in November 2002 and was subsequently reported outside of the country in March 2003. The outbreak was traced back to a Chinese doctor who had been treating patients with ‘atypical pneumonia’ in Guangdong and then 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. Many of them felt well enough to travel out of Hong Kong, carrying the virus into Canada, Vietnam and Singapore. In the next few months, SARS was 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 the limitations that 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). The WHO will then have the authority to intervene and restrict trans-boundary movements. However, with other diseases such as SARS, the WHO can only take on an advisory role. 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 people view freedom of movement as a human right (Paquin, 2007), others question the ethics in issuing SARS related travel advisories or compulsory quarantines (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 a case from 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 being transmitted 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.

References

Angier, N. (2001, May 6). Case study: Globalization; location: everywhere; Together, in Sickness and in Health. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/1-case-study-globalization-location-everywhere-together-sickness-health.html

Armelagos, G. J., & Harper, K. N. (2010). Emerging Infectious Diseases, Urbanization, and Globalization in the Time of Global Warming. In W. C. Cockerham (Ed.), The new Blackwell companion to medical sociology (pp. 289 – 311). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Federation of American Scientists. (2003). SARS: Down But Still a Threat. Retrieved from https://www.fas.org/irp/nic/sars.html

Goldin, I. (2009). Navigating our global future. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_future

Heymann, D. L. (2006). SARS and emerging infectious diseases: A challenge to place global solidarity. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, 35(5), 350-353.

Huang, Y. (2004). The SARS epidemic and its aftermath in China: A political perspective. In S. Knobler, A. Mahmoud, S. Lemon, A. Mack, L. Sivitz & K. Oberholtzer (Eds.), Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak: Workshop Summary (pp. 116-136). Washington, DC: National Academic Press.

Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2000). Globalization: What's New? What's Not? (And So What?). Foreign Policy, Spring(118), 104 – 119.

Mwambi, H. G., & Zuma, K. (2007). Mapping and Modeling Disease Risk Among Mobile Populations. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population mobility and infectious disease (pp. 245 - 266). New York, NY: Springer.

National Health Service. (2014). What are the incubation periods for infections? Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1064.aspx?CategoryID=200&SubCategoryID=2001

Paquin, L. J. (2007). Was WHO SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto ethical? Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 209.

Sutton, R. (2013, August 26). What ever happened to SARS?  Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/03/09/what-ever-happened-sars

Teo, P., Yeoh, B. S. A., & Ong, S. N. (2005). SARS in Singapore: surveillance strategies in a globalising city. Health Policy, 72(3), 279-291.

Wilson, M. E. (2007). Population Mobility and the Geography of Microbial Threats. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population Mobility and Infectious Disease (pp. 21-39). New York, NY: Springer.

World Health Organization. (2003a). Chapter 5: SARS: lessons from a new disease. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/whr/2003/chapter5/en/index5.html

World Health Organization. (2003b, April 23). WHO extends its SARS-related travel advice to Beijing and Shanxi province in China and to Toronto, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2003/np7/en/

World Health Organization. (2003c, March 27). Update 11 - WHO recommends new measures to prevent travel-related spread of SARS. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/sars/archive/2003_03_27/en/

World Tourism Organization. (2014, January 20). International tourism exceeds expectations with arrivals up by 52 million in 2013. Retrieved from http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-01-20/international-tourism-exceeds-expectations-arrivals-52-million-2013 

Reader's Response (Final)

In his paper, “Globalisation of Culture through the Media”, Kraidy (2002) explores the debate between cultural imperialism and globalisation. He asserts that there has been a general consensus that cultural globalisation is synonymous with Westernisation or Americanisation. This perspective is similar to that of the cultural imperialism theory whereby cultural products and values from predominately “Western industrialised countries” are exported and imposed globally, particularly to developing countries. Kraidy (2002) highlights various reasons for a shift in perspective from cultural imperialism to globalisation. One group has perceived cultural globalisation as a homogenising process where local cultures are at risk of being dominated by Western culture. Others, including Kraidy, regard it as hybridisation, whereby cultures from around the world are adapted and transformed to suit local needs.

I agree with Kraidy as he proposes cultural globalisation as hybridisation instead of another feature of Western imperialism. Cultural globalisation is defined as the “movement of ideas, information, images and people” across geographical and political boundaries (Keohane & Nye, 2000). This definition illustrates that globalisation is not merely a process where the West dominates other cultures. The authors assert that cultural globalisation neither implies universality nor homogeneity as global cultural products take on different meanings for different people. For example, a McDonalds outlet in Beijing is more than just a fast food restaurant; it serves as a socialising place as well (Belk, 2006).

In my opinion, cultural globalisation is not a zero-sum game with the demise of local cultures and national identities. It is inaccurate to assume that people are passive subjects who are unable to interact with global cultural influences. The creation of hybrid cultural products whereby global products are transformed to suit local norms is apparent in many parts of the world. For example, McDonalds reinvents its menu to provide vegetarian burgers instead of Big Mac in response to India’s culture and belief system. Similarly in Singapore and Japan, McDonalds offers rice burgers and seaweed seasoning fries to suit the local palate.

Furthermore, cultural globalisation is not necessarily a Western phenomenon since Asian countries perpetuate their cultures too. Green tea, yoga, Japanese manga and Korean pop music (K-pop) are some Asian inspired cultural products that have been well received in Western countries. One good example to reflect this trend is Gangnam Style, a K-pop song by South Korean singer Psy. With Youtube as its social medium, the song went viral and gained worldwide attention.

Globalisation should not be accepted as an inevitable process with a single outcome. Cultural globalisation does not mean homogenisation or the “steamrolling of the world by American values” (Friedman, 2006). Rather, it is a reciprocal two-way process that allows global and local cultures to interact.

(446 words) 

References

Belk, R. (2006). Out of sight and out of our minds: What of those left behind by globalism? In J. N. Sheth & R. Sisodia (Eds.), Does Marketing Need Reform?: Fresh Perspectives on the Future (pp. 209 – 216). Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe.

Friedman, T. L. (2006). The world is flat: The globalized world in the twenty-first century. London: Penguin Books.

Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2000). Globalization: What's new? What's not? (And so what?). Foreign Policy, Spring(118), 104 – 119.

Kraidy, M. M. (2002). Globalization of Culture Through the Media. Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=asc_papers

Globalisation and Emerging Infectious Diseases (Draft 3)

“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 suggests 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 demonstrates that contemporary globalisation has resulted in greater human mobility, which contributes to the rapid spread of the virus around the world. 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 does not include 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” (National Health Service, 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 a good example of how the world’s interconnectedness has facilitated the spread of the virus. SARS first appeared in Guangdong province of China in November 2002 and was subsequently reported outside of the country in March 2003. The outbreak was traced back to a Chinese doctor who had been treating patients with ‘atypical pneumonia’ in Guangdong and then 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. Many of them felt well enough to travel out of Hong Kong, carrying the virus into Canada, Vietnam and Singapore. In the next few months, SARS was 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 the limitations that 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). The WHO will then have the authority to intervene and restrict trans-boundary movements. However, with other diseases such as SARS, the WHO can only take on an advisory role. 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 people view freedom of movement as a human right (Paquin, 2007), others question the ethics in issuing SARS related travel advisories or compulsory quarantines (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 a case from 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 being transmitted 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.

References

Angier, N. (2001, May 6). Case study: Globalization; location: everywhere; Together, in Sickness and in Health. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/1-case-study-globalization-location-everywhere-together-sickness-health.html

Armelagos, G. J., & Harper, K. N. (2010). Emerging Infectious Diseases, Urbanization, and Globalization in the Time of Global Warming. In W. C. Cockerham (Ed.), The new Blackwell companion to medical sociology (pp. 289 – 311). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Federation of American Scientists. (2003). SARS: Down But Still a Threat. Retrieved from https://www.fas.org/irp/nic/sars.html

Goldin, I. (2009). Navigating our global future. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_future

Heymann, D. L. (2006). SARS and Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Challenge to Place Global Solidarity. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, 35(5), 350-353.

Huang, Y. (2004). The SARS epidemic and its aftermath in China: A political perspective. In S. Knobler, A. Mahmoud, S. Lemon, A. Mack, L. Sivitz and K. Oberholtzer (Eds.), Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak: Workshop Summary (pp. 116-136). Washington, DC: National Academic Press.

Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2000). Globalization: What's New? What's Not? (And So What?). Foreign Policy, Spring(118), 104 – 119.

Mwambi, H. G., & Zuma, K. (2007). Mapping and Modeling Disease Risk Among Mobile Populations. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population Mobility and Infectious Disease (pp. 245 - 266). New York, NY: Springer.

National Health Service. (2014). What are the incubation periods for infections? Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1064.aspx?CategoryID=200&SubCategoryID=2001

Paquin, L. J. (2007). Was WHO SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto ethical? Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 209.

Sutton, R. (2013, August 26). What ever happened to SARS?  Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/03/09/what-ever-happened-sars

Teo, P., Yeoh, B. S. A., & Ong, S. N. (2005). SARS in Singapore: surveillance strategies in a globalising city. Health Policy, 72(3), 279-291.

Wilson, M. E. (2007). Population Mobility and the Geography of Microbial Threats. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population Mobility and Infectious Disease (pp. 21-39). New York, NY: Springer.

World Health Organization. (2003a). Chapter 5: SARS: lessons from a new disease. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/whr/2003/chapter5/en/index5.html

World Health Organization. (2003b, April 23). WHO extends its SARS-related travel advice to Beijing and Shanxi province in China and to Toronto, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2003/np7/en/

World Health Organization. (2003c, March 27). Update 11 - WHO recommends new measures to prevent travel-related spread of SARS. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/sars/archive/2003_03_27/en/

World Tourism Organization. (2014, January 20). International tourism exceeds expectations with arrivals up by 52 million in 2013. Retrieved from http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-01-20/international-tourism-exceeds-expectations-arrivals-52-million-2013

Globalisation and Emerging Infectious Diseases (Draft 2)

“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.

References:

Angier, N. (2001, May 6). Case study: globalization; location: everywhere; Together, in Sickness and in Health. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/06/magazine/1-case-study-globalization-location-everywhere-together-sickness-health.html

Armelagos, G. J., & Harper, K. N. (2010). Emerging Infectious Diseases, Urbanization, and Globalization in the Time of Global Warming. In W. C. Cockerham (Ed.), The new Blackwell companion to medical sociology (pp. 289 – 311). Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Federation of American Scientists. (2003). SARS: Down But Still a Threat. Retrieved from https://www.fas.org/irp/nic/sars.html

Goldin, I. (2009). Navigating our global future. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_future

Heymann, D. L. (2006). SARS and Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Challenge to Place Global Solidarity. Annals of the Academy of Medicine, 35(5), 350-353.

Huang, Y. (2004). The SARS epidemic and its aftermath in China: a political perspective. In S. Knobler, A. Mahmoud, S. Lemon, A. Mack, L. Sivitz and K. Oberholtzer (Eds.), Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak: Workshop Summary (pp. 116-136). Washington, DC: National Academic Press.

Keohane, R. O., & Nye, J. S. (2000). Globalization: What's New? What's Not? (And So What?). Foreign Policy, Spring(118), 104 – 119.

Mwambi, H. G., & Zuma, K. (2007). Mapping and Modeling Disease Risk Among Mobile Populations. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population Mobility and Infectious Disease (pp. 245 - 266). New York, NY: Springer.

NHS. (2014). What are the incubation periods for infections? Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/1064.aspx?CategoryID=200&SubCategoryID=2001

Paquin, L. J. (2007). Was WHO SARS-related travel advisory for Toronto ethical? Canadian Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 209.

Sutton, R. (2013, August 26). What ever happened to SARS?  Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/03/09/what-ever-happened-sars

Teo, P., Yeoh, B. S. A., & Ong, S. N. (2005). SARS in Singapore: surveillance strategies in a globalising city. Health Policy, 72(3), 279-291.

Wilson, M. E. (2007). Population Mobility and the Geography of Microbial Threats. In Y. Apostolopoulos & S. Sönmez (Eds.), Population Mobility and Infectious Disease (pp. 21-39). New York, NY: Springer.

World Health Organization. (2003a). Chapter 5: SARS: lessons from a new disease. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/whr/2003/chapter5/en/index5.html

World Health Organization. (2003b, April 23). WHO extends its SARS-related travel advice to Beijing and Shanxi province in China and to Toronto, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2003/np7/en/

World Health Organization. (2003c, March 27). Update 11 - WHO recommends new measures to prevent travel-related spread of SARS. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/csr/sars/archive/2003_03_27/en/

World Tourism Organization. (2014, January 20). International tourism exceeds expectations with arrivals up by 52 million in 2013. Retrieved from http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-01-20/international-tourism-exceeds-expectations-arrivals-52-million-2013

Gobalisation and Emerging Infectious Diseases (Draft 1)

“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) epidemic 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 is “within the incubation period of most infectious diseases” (Wilson, 2007).  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 in November 2002. However, the Chinese government failed to raise alarm until February 2003. SARS was subsequently reported outside of China a month later. A Chinese doctor from Guangdong who had been treating patients with ‘atypical pneumonia’ went to Hong Kong and stayed on the 9^th floor of the Metropole Hotel. Other international guests who stayed on the same floor soon became infected with the virus. Due to its long incubation period, 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).

Response to SARS: 

In response to the epidemic, 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. In the following month, the agency recommended that people should postpone all but essential travel to Hong Kong, certain provinces in China and Toronto, Canada. The WHO (2003c) also recommended screening of air passengers departing from certain affected areas in an attempt to prevent travel-related spread of SARS.

The SARS epidemic highlighted limitations the WHO encountered in identifying and controlling its spread. Based on international health regulations in 2003, countries are only required to notify the agency of yellow fever, cholera and plague outbreaks (Federation of American Scientists, 2003). It then has 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 outbreaks. The global health threat was exacerbated as China failed to report promptly and openly about SARS. The delay proved deadly as travellers transmitted the virus around the world after visiting Hong Kong (Huang, 2004).

Furthermore, not everyone is willing to cooperate with these guidelines. For instance, a man suspected of having SARS still managed to board his plane on May 2003 (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. The “strengthening of systems for outbreak alerts and response” is seen as an ideal way to defend global health security.

Conclusion:

Diseases transcend boundaries. As the world becomes more functionally integrated 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 also offers mechanisms and tools to address global health threats. Through global mobilisation and multilateralism, 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 a disease outbreak.

References:

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