-
- Hi, Jeff...
- I'm writing to give your audience some sense of what they
might expect relative to the SARS crisis as it is unfolding.
I've supplied immediately below some dates and numbers infected that summarize
a rather involved mathematical model in a few words.
-
- 1. Expect the worldwide number of SARS infected to surpass
3,000 between April 8th to April 12th.
- 2. Expect the number of infected to surpass 4,000 between
April 11th to April 16th.
- 3. Expect the number of infected to surpass 5,000 between
April 15th to April 19th.
- 4. Expect the number of infected to surpass 6,000 between
April 18th to April 22nd.
- 5. To surpass 7,000 between April 21st to April 25th.
- 6. To surpass 8,000 beween April 23rd to April 27th.
- 7. To surpass 9,000 between April 25th to April 29th.
- 8. To surpass 10,000 between April 26th to April 30th.
-
- The above data are generated employing a mathematical
model. The model is exponential using an exponent of 1.12 and establishing
99% confidence intervals around the projected number of worldwide infected.
-
- I have no idea if these numbers will actually pan-out
to be the reality of the situation. Let's hope not. However, so to alert
you and your audience, I wanted you to have these data. Should these numbers
be close to accurate, I would expect that SARS will become more of a news
item than the Iraq War toward the end of this month.
-
- Should these numbers be right, indicating that the model
is a useful predictor of future number infected, it would be reasonable
to expect that:
-
- 1. Between May 6th to May 10th, there could be 20,000
cases worldwide.
- 2. Between May 16th and May 20th there could be 40,000
cases worldwide.
- 3. By the end of May, it would be reasonable to expect
over 100,000 cases of SARS worldwide.
-
- The month of May would be a very frightening time for
the world relative to a developing SARS pandemic. There would be substantial
impact by May, given the above scenario, on travel, commerce, and national
securities of various nation-states. By May, if it is going to be serious,
it WILL be serious by then.
-
- Reports from various sources suggest a pandemic is unfolding.
For example,
- "Unfortunately, it's an epidemic now that will become
a pandemic," predicted Donald Low, chief microbiologist at Toronto's
Mount Sinai Hospital." Source:
- http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/5552879.htm
-
- However, another source opines:
- "It's too soon to tell whether a deadly new respiratory
illness will become a global pandemic, but it would take extreme luck for
it to be contained now, the director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention said, according the Associated Press today. "In an
executive order signed Friday, Bush added SARS to the list of diseases
for which health authorities have authority to involuntarily quarantine
Americans. It's the first time a new disease has been added to the list
in two decades. "If spread in the population," the order says,
SARS "would have severe public health consequences."
-
- Source: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/4/4/174732.shtml
-
- Again, I provide these data to you, Jeff, so that you
and your readers can effective guage the information presented by WHO and
CDC, e.g., <http://www.cdc.gov>http://www.cdc.gov , and compare the
developing real numbers from those organizations to the above model so
to be able to anticipate a pandemic. If by April 22nd, we are seeing more
than 6,000 people infected with SARS worldwide, it would be highly likely
that we are headed into a pandemic. On the other hand, if by April 22nd,
we are seeing the number of infected individuals worldwide hovering around
4,000 or less, we can all breath a sigh of relief as it would appear from
that observation that efforts to control SARS are being successful and
a pandemic has been averted. While there would still be regional epidemics,
a global pandemic would not easily happen.
-
- Thanks, Jeff, for your services to all of us.
-
- Robert E. Lee, M.S., M.S.W., L.C.S.W.
-
|
