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e-Information and Misinformation about SARS
Posted by Tara Swaminatha on Friday, April 18 @ 02:38:49 EDT News
A Hong Kong cell phone service is now available to notify customers which nearby buildings have housed SARS victims.

On a related topic, an article examines the fact that the fear of this serious epidemic is apparently travelling even faster than the deadly disease itself. Some of the information circulating is legitimate and some rumor-filled. Read the article here.

Legitimate government communication measures, disease information and other rumors discussed in the article include:
  • A Hong Kong intensive care specialist who (correctly) warned of the severity of SARS on his far-reaching mailing list when the disease was first identified. (Sadly, SARS cases have increased from 260 to 1268 since then.)
  • Earlier this week the Center for Disease Control (CDC) placed the entire nucleotide sequence of the virus suspected to be responsible for SARS online.
  • A teenager's Web hoax claiming Hong Kong's borders would be closed prompted runs on canned foods and toilet paper.
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