[ OUR OPINION ]

With SARS, it is
better to be safe now
than sorry later

THE ISSUE A dangerous, pneumonia-like respiratory disease has placed Hawaii and U.S. health officials on the alert.

A RESPIRATORY disease that is spreading around the world has raised concern among Hawaii residents, and it appears state and U.S. health officials are responding appropriately by providing advice and information without causing undue alarm.

No cases of the disease, called severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, have been confirmed in Hawaii, but samples from five suspected cases in the islands have been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for diagnosis. All of the victims have either fully recovered or are expected to do so.

Nonetheless, people and health-care providers should remain alert because experts are uncertain about how the disease is spread and because its life-threatening symptoms can develop swiftly. Travelers should heed warnings from the World Health Organization to avoid going to Hong Kong, where hundreds have been afflicted, and the Chinese province of Guangdong, where the disease is believed to have originated.

The cause of SARS has experts puzzled, but they think it is a new form of a virus that causes colds. It is believed to spread directly through droplets issued by sneezing or coughing and indirectly through contact with an object tainted by the virus, which can survive outside the human body for three to six hours.

Symptoms mimic the flu but evolve quickly, and those infected consistently develop severe pneumonia, which can cause other complications. There is no specific vaccine or treatment for SARS, although early therapy with steroids and antiviral drugs has blocked the worst of the illness.

Although there are no direct flights to Hawaii from affected regions, about a dozen flights a day from Japan and Korea have raised concerns here. State officials will distribute information cards to arriving passengers from Asia, telling them to get medical care if they develop symptoms such as high fever, coughing and difficulty breathing. In addition, the Health Department is monitoring hospitals and clinics to watch for any potential cases.

Ease of travel and China's habitual tendency to hide its problems have contributed to the spread of the disease. It appears that a grave worldwide epidemic has been averted; however, the situation clearly demonstrates the need for borderless cooperation when public health is threatened.