Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Help fight SARS

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Community » Film-Yak » Help fight SARS

Author

Topic: Help fight SARS

Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 04-25-2003 08:07 AM

Hi all

This is an idea I came across when visiting a Hong Kong expatriate's site at http://bigwhiteguy.com (by the way the site is well worth visiting especially for Randall's first-hand insight into the effects of SARS on the Hong Kong populace.)

quote:
The South China Morning Post has come up with a great idea to help front line medical workers stay healthy in the fight against SARS.

They've called it Project Shield.

The campaign's goal is to raise funds from business and individuals in order to purchase as many as 10,000 Barrierman suits per day:

SCMP donated the first 1,000 and this has been matched by the makers of the special suit DuPont.

Dr Ko Wing Man, Director (Professional Service and Public Affairs) said: "We are being faced with a new virus, and hence manpower, treatment module and medication are under immense pressure and challenge. We are very grateful that the South China Morning Post is joining hands with other committed organisations to show their support to public hospitals."

You can make your donation by filling out the details below or in the following ways:

Call our hotline numbers:
2250 3355 Monday to Friday or 2250 3356 on Saturday and Sunday. Quote your credit card number and the amount you would like to donate. Lines are manned from 9.30am to 6.30pm.

Make a bank transfer directly to Project Shield at the following HSBC account number: 567-602032-003

Mail your cheque, made out to ''Project Shield'', to the Marketing Department - Project Shield, South China Morning Post, 15th Floor, Somerset House, Taikoo Place, 979 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.

SCMP will acknowledge all donations.
On one hand, this is a great way for people in the community to express their appreciation for health-care workers in Hong Kong, whether or not they know someone being treated for SARS. It is a way to give something back, and I support the concept.

I think this is a worthwhile thing that we all can do and an effort that will save lives. Remember that the whole Hong Kong outbreak started with just one visitor from China.

As most of us are overseas we can donate using our credit cards (I have already made a donation) at the following website.

http://scmp.com (just follow the link on the main page).

Let's all do something practical to fight this disease. Each suit only costs a few $US.

cheers Peter

| IP: Logged

Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 04-25-2003 01:53 PM

Since the SARS epidemic began recently in China, no one has mentioned what is to become of the next olympic games scheduled to be held in Beijing in a few years. I assume by the time the games are held, the epidemic will be a lot serious than it is now but there might be a few small countries that has not been exposed to the dreaded virus yet . By sending a team to compete in the ganmes not to mention families and friends who will travel to the games with the athletes from these countries, there is a very strong possibility, the SARS epidemic will become worldwide after the games. Do you think the games will go on as scheduled or will it be cancelled? Because the risk is too great, I personally feel they should cancell or let another city have the games and allow Beijin to host the games in the future when the risk of the world wide spread of SARS has been eliminated or diminished.

-Claude

| IP: Logged

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 04-25-2003 02:40 PM

The SARS virus seems like a pretty scary thing. It seems to have about the same level of fatality as cases of pneumonia.

But to put things in perspective, the Far East has much greater worries. The AIDS virus has spread to epidemic proportions and is poised to kill millions in China just in this decade. Other countries in the region have rapidly growing case loads. Just look at southern Africa and a number of countries there now with shrinking populations. This is a massive casualty count numbering well into the millions. While AIDS is still a very serious problem here in the United States, we have not seen the level of destruction that has happened in Africa and what will likely happen in Asia.

SARS is serious, but there are many more people in Asia dying everyday from AIDS. They're just not getting the press coverage.

| IP: Logged

Peter Berrett
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 602
From: Victoria, Australia
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 04-25-2003 07:39 PM

It gets worse Bobby

If those with compromised immune systems (from AIDS) get SARS then I think they wouldn't have much chance. THe disease picks off those with weaker immune systems. In a sense SARS is the icing on AIDS cake.

It's scary to think what effect SARS could have in Africa. Millions of AIDS sufferers killed in a very short time. hopefully our doctors will be able to develop a vaccine soon.

cheers Peter

| IP: Logged

Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 04-26-2003 03:32 AM

I've heard it said by others that SARS could be a biological weapon of sorts that the Chinese were developing that broke free unintentionally. I have no clue if that is true since I am sitting on my ass here in the US, but it is kind of interesting to think about especially with the population problems China has. Where has SARS been up until now? How did it suddenly come to be? Just curious.

I've also heard that AIDS was created to "get rid of the immoral people". Of course people like to say all sorts of things, but how do you seperate truth from BS? Nobody can be right about everything they believe.

| IP: Logged

Mike Rendall
Film Handler

Posts: 78
From: Southampton, Hampshire, UK
Registered: Nov 2002

posted 04-26-2003 06:15 AM

From the scientific point of view, these super-bugs are going to get worse as they get resilient to our modern medicines. In a wierd sort of way we are making it worse for the future by discovering and developing better drugs.

There is a program on TV in the UK about drug companies that have many drugs that have been developed that can ease the suffering of only those who can afford them.

| IP: Logged

Patrick McDonough
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 118
From: Greenfield Ma.
Registered: Jul 2002

posted 04-26-2003 09:05 AM

kind of reminds me of the Stand.

| IP: Logged

Daniel Fuentz
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 230
From: Fresno, CA, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 04-26-2003 10:23 PM

I just noticed this on Yahoo news, all cinemas in China are being closed due to SARS:

Yahoo News

| IP: Logged

John Schulien
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 206
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-26-2003 11:21 PM

I seriously doubt that SARS was designed as a biological weapon.

The best explanation I've heard about why new viruses seem to come from China has to do with their farming practices. Farms in rural China often raise pigs, ducks, and geese together.

Humans can't catch avian viruses.
Pigs can catch avian and human viruses.

So if a pig catches both a human and an avian virus, and both viruses infect the same cell, an opportunity exists for the two to exchange DNA and produce a new virus that might be capable of infecting humans.

| IP: Logged

Charles Everett
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: New Jersey
Registered: May 2001

posted 05-01-2003 04:27 PM

All three US weekly news magazines -- Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report -- have a cover story on SARS this week.

At least one reporter has the common sense to say the press is making SARS worse than it really is.

| IP: Logged

John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 05-02-2003 09:03 AM

quote:
All three US weekly news magazines -- Time, Newsweek, US News & World Report -- have a cover story on SARS this week.

And ALL three with almost exactly the same cover photo. [Smile]

Time SARS Cover

Newsweek SARS Cover

US News SARS Cover

| IP: Logged

Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-02-2003 12:18 PM

That's why I stopped reading weekly news magazines years ago.

| IP: Logged

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 05-02-2003 05:29 PM

I've heard conspiracy theory fans claim SARS was a biological weapon developed by an evil government organization, such as the United States' CIA. Of course, when examining what is possible with today's technology it becomes easy to refute government involvement.

Military groups can "weaponize" existing viruses and bacteria, but they do not have the technology to create a new one from scratch. Since the two strains of SARS identified are cousins of the common cold, I suppose there might be some outside chance human tinkering with conventional cold virus genetics could have bred this one. But I still doubt it.

AIDS? There's no way any scientist could have made that. The very essence of the virus is made of RNA, a component of DNA. We're still trying to map out the human genome. The AIDS virus is a very sophisticated hack of that human genome.

If someone did have the staggering level of genius to have invented the AIDS virus, he have to be awarded the Nobel Prize for the sophistication of it and then summarily executed for committing the largest mass human manslaughter in world history.

| IP: Logged

Gordon McLeod
Film God

Posts: 9532
From: Toronto Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 99

posted 05-02-2003 08:35 PM

Since I live in the city that in north america has been the hardest hit I can say it is very scary since the virus has not been positively identified only two of the actual deaths tested positive for what was believed to be the culprit virus
It also appears that it has a longer period that the infection can return over and there appears to be no gained imunitity to it from surviving it once

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.