SARS: Globalism Brings
Deadly New Disease to U.S.

By Isabel Lyman

t's early spring, and Americans are consumed with worrying about the war in Iraq, radical Muslim terrorists, and an uncertain economy. But they have to make room on their already-full plate for another big-picture concern: a deadly virus known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.

The SARS saga began in Viet Nam in February of 2003 where the "index" (first) case was recognized. The World Health Organization (WHO) of Geneva reported, "[a]middle-aged business man who has travelled extensively in South-East Asia before becoming unwell, was admitted to a hopsital in Hanoi ... " This patient, who died on March 13, exhibited the symptoms now associated with the disease - high fever, respiratory ailments, and a dry cough.

By April 11, 2003, troubling statistics about SARS were available. They included the following:

• The first 305 cases and 5 deaths of SARS were reported in China, in the province of Guangdong, between November 2002 and February 2003.
  
  
• There have been 2781 cases of SARS and 111 deaths documented, mostly in China and Hong Kong.
  
  
• In the United States, the Center for Disease Control has reported 166 suspected cases of SARS but no deaths.
  
  
• Outside of Asia, the largest outbreak of SARS has occurred in Canada, which is considered one of the "hot zones" for the disease by the WHO. Canadian health officials estimate that about 250 cases of the virus have been identified. Ten people, all in the Toronto area, have died from SARS.

Researchers suggest that SARS is caused by a new coronavirus, the family of viruses that is responsible for the common cold. Like the pesky cold, SARS is incurable. Within two to 10 days of exposure, the infected person develops pneumonia-like symptoms. The medical methods employed during the Middle Ages - quarantine and isolation - are the only sure-fire ways to contain this contagious, airborne disease. Some fortunate patients in Hong Kong did show "clinical improvement" when the antiviral agent ribavirin was administered to them intravenously. Meantime, medical suppliers were quick to capitalize on the public's panic by offering SARS prevention kits for fifty bucks. The kits include a respirator, hand gels, and latex gloves.

Besides the obvious health issues, SARS is a made-for-prime-time example of how the New World Order and NAFTA impacts our lives whether we reside in Beijing or Des Moines, and whether we are a middle-aged CEO or a fit college student. In an era of globalization and unrestricted international jet travel, it's mindboggling to realize how far and fast a virus can be transported to contaminate innocent people, as well as create social chaos. One infected man, for instance, had taken seven international flights in one week's time. From late March to early April, the unnamed passenger traveled from Hong Kong to Barcelona (where he developed the symptoms of SARS), to Frankfurt, to London, back to Munich, back to Frankfurt, and back to Hong Kong, where he finally checked into a hospital.

Corporate America has also been impacted by the microscopic threat. The Walt Disney Company complained about being "adversely" affected. SARS has caused Asian travel to diminsh, so foreign visits to the popular theme parks in Florida and California have slowed down. Wal-mart, whose corporate headquarters is in Arkansas, has asked its employees to avoid travel to Toronto. (The company has over 200 stores in Canada.)

Worldwide, public officials have resorted to draconian measures to control the spread of SARS. In Hong Kong, schools and businesses were closed. In Toronto, officials sent thousands of health care workers into voluntary quarantine and shut down hospitals. In Russia, which shares thousands of miles with the border of China, border control personnel are required to wear gloves and masks. Russian maintenance crews are using six times more chlorine than usual to scrub trains that arrived from China. The Australian government has instructed health officials to "forcibly" detain any individual who exhibits symptoms of SARS and are also recommending "closure" of the Australian borders.

In the U.S. of A., however, it has been business as usual, a state of affairs which, sadly, hasn't surprised alert Americans. Long considered a "sleeper issue" by immigration reformers, like Phyllis Schlafly and Peter Brimelow, are the serious public health concerns surrounding the massive arrival of undocumented, impoverished foreigners into the United States. Ironically, federal immigration law requires that immigrants seeking a visa, as well as refugees, undergo a medical examination.

Since illegals have not had the pre-requisite physical exam, the upshot is that communicable diseases are also being 'smuggled' into the United States, and overworked hospital personnel have to squander precious resources caring for the sick newcomers. As Brenda Walker of LimitsToGrowth.com has noted, "Diseases thought to have been eradicated in the United States are making a comeback, mostly due to increasing immigration, travel, and economic globalization." These include some old diseases with ominous names like "tuberculosis" and "malaria," and new ones, with more exotic monikers like "West Nile Virus."

In 1998, Dr. Gene Migliaccio, director of the Division of Immigrant Health Services for the United States Public Health Service, stated that his department discovered 126 cases of tuberculosis, after conducting medical inspections on 150,000 illegal aliens who were detained by immigration services' workers. In a politically-incorrect moment, Dr. Migliaccio told the New York Times: "What has changed is that borders don't really exist anymore. With airplanes and ease of movement from one country to another, the potential of bringing in a disease is tremendous."

The good doctor's statement was uttered during the easy-to-villify, multiculturally-correct Clinton Whitehouse era. But "Mi casa, su casa" also continues to be the mantra of the Bush administration. After the worldwide outbreak of SARS, the only precaution that the newly-created Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Tom Ridge could offer on its website was to post a U.S. Department of State travel warning that Americans should defer non-essential travel to mainland China and Hong Kong. But if you expected Ridge to place a moratorium on immigration or secure our nation's borders - fuggedaboutit.

Members of citizen watchdog groups - like American Border Patrol and Civil Homeland Defense - complain that the border is more porous than usual. Chris Simcox, of Civil Homeland Defense, explains why: "Border Patrol has pulled many field officers off patrol and put them at ports of entry to help with searching cars and trucks coming through. This leaves the unprotected areas even more unprotected." It has been left to Simcox, et. al., to continue to police the border, apprehend scores of undocumented aliens, and turn them over to the Border Patrol. The situation at the border became even more Orwellian when federales arrested Mr. Simcox and two members of Ranch Rescue for their efforts at preventing illegals from trespassing.

In March, Secretary Ridge told the American people that his department had created a comprehensive national plan for security: "Operation Liberty Shield will increase security at our borders, strengthen transportation sector protections, enhance security at our critical infrastructure, increase public health preparedness and make sure all federal response assets can be deployed quickly." One wonders what it will take to get Mr. Ridge to deliver on his promises, since neither war nor pestilence has done the trick. Perhaps one doesn't want to know.