SARS success story....

The World Health Organization announced today that Vietnam has become the first nation to contain SARS. The country's success in registering no new outbreaks in 20 days--twice the illness' incubation period--has been credited to actions of WHO doctor Carlo Urbani. Based in Vietnam, Urbani quickly recognized the disease's virulence and urged swift-acting health officials to initiate comprehensive quarantine measures as soon as the first cases appeared. Tragically, Urbani died of SARS on March 29, at age 46. (See Krieg9 4/10/03)

In the meantime, Hong Kong and China, both hard hit by the disease, are scrambling to prevent its spread. Travelers leaving from Hong Kong's international airport are being subjected to body temperature checks (!) and anyone with a fever is being kept off the planes. (A lot fewer colds are being spread, too, I'd wager....)

In China, meantime, officials have moved to close movie theaters, discos, and karaoke parlors and workers are laboring to construct a 1,000-bed "field hospital" outside Beijing to isolate patients.

Full story here.