Sars In China

by Kleinman, Arthur

• ISBN13: 9780804753142
• ISBN10: 0804753148
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-10-30
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr

Summary

The SARS epidemic of 2003 was one of the most serious public health crises of our times. The event, which lasted only a few months, is best seen as a warning shot, a wake-up call for public health professionals, security officials, economic planners, and policy makers everywhere. SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is one of the "new" epidemics. SARS in China addresses the structure and impact of the epidemic and its short and medium range implications for an interconnected, globalized world. After initially stalling and prevaricating, the Chinese government managed to control SARS before it became a global catastrophe, an accomplishment that required political will and national mobilization. Recent warnings from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding avian flu make it clear that SARS may have been a prelude to bigger things. The contributors to this volume include a journalist, WHO's representative in Beijing, and health care professionals, several of whom found themselves on the frontlines of the battle to understand and control SARS. Their vivid, first-hand accounts encouraged other contributors to go beyond the boundaries of their respective disciplines and write for a wide audience. The authors of this volume focus on specific aspects of the SARS outbreakepidemiological, political, economic, social, cultural, and moral. They analyze SARS as a form of social suffering and raise questions about the relevance of national sovereignty in the face of such global threats. Taken together, these essays demonstrate that SARS had the potential of becoming a major turning point in human history. This book thus poses a question of the greatest possible significance: Can we learn from SARS before the next pandemic? Contributors: Erik Eckholm Joan Kaufman Arthur Kleinman Dominic Lee Sing Lee Megan Murray Thomas G. Rawski Tony Saich Alan Schnur James L. Watson Hong Zhang Yun Kwok Wing

Author Biography

Arthur Kleinman is Esther and Sidney Rabb Professor and Chair of the Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, and Professor of Medical Anthropology and Social Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. James L. Watson is Fairbank Professor of Chinese Society and Professor of Anthropology at Harvard University. He is also the author of Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia (Stanford University Press, 1997).

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Contributors	ix
Introduction: SARS in Social and Historical Context	1	(16)
Arthur Kleinman
James L. Watson
Part I. The Epidemiological and Public Health Background
The Epidemiology of SARS	17	(14)
Megan Murray
The Role of the World Health Organization in Combating SARS, Focusing on the Efforts in China	31	(22)
Alan Schnur
SARS and China's Health-Care Response: Better to Be Both Red and Expert!	53	(18)
Joan Kaufman
Part II. Economic and Political Consequences
Is SARS China's Chernobyl or Much Ado About Nothing?	71	(34)
Tony Saich
SARS and China's Economy	105	(17)
Thomas G. Rawski
SARS in Beijing: The Unraveling of a Cover-Up	122	(11)
Erik Eckholm
Part III: Social, Moral, and Psychological Consequences
Psychological Responses to SARS in Hong Kong---Report from the Front Line	133	(15)
Dominic T. S. Lee
Yun Kwok Wing
Making Light of the Dark Side: SARS Jokes and Humor in China	148	(25)
Hong Zhang
Part IV: Globalization and Cross-Cultural Issues
SARS and the Problem of Social Stigma	173	(23)
Arthur Kleinman
Sing Lee
SARS and the Consequences for Globalization	196	(9)
James L. Watson
Notes	205	(30)
Index	235