Hello World.
It definitely has been an interesting start to the year, hasn't it? Australia has had raging bushfires, flash flooding, and now, of course, the only topic of conversation is about the newest strain of #coronavirus, #2019nCoV (colloquially known as the #WuhanVirus).
But this is not really an article about the virus itself.
What I really wanted to write about today, is fear. Let's put things into perspective.
Something far deadlier than the Wuhan virus already lurks near you.
Worldwide, the flu causes up to 5 million cases of severe illness worldwide and kills up to 650,000 people every year, according to the World Health Organization.
If Americans aren’t afraid of the flu, perhaps that’s because they are inured to yearly warnings. For them, the flu is old news. Yet viruses named after foreign places — such as Ebola, Zika and Wuhan — inspire terror.
“Familiarity breeds indifference,” Schaffner said. “Because it’s new, it’s mysterious and comes from an exotic place, the coronavirus creates anxiety.”
Some people may worry less about the flu because there’s a vaccine, whose protection has ranged from 19% to 60% in recent years. Simply having the choice about whether or not to receive a flu shot can give people an illusion of control, Schaffner said.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
But people often feel powerless to fight novel viruses. The fact that an airplane passenger spread SARS to other passengers and flight crew made people feel especially vulnerable.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals. Although Mers is believed to be transmitted to humans from dromedaries, the original hosts for both coronaviruses were probably bats. In 2002, Sars spread virtually unchecked to 37 countries, causing global panic, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 750. Mers appears to be less easily passed from human to human, but has greater lethality, killing 35% of about 2,500 people who have been infected.
What are the symptoms caused by the Wuhan coronavirus?
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died are known to have been already in poor health.
Why is this any worse than normal influenza?
We don’t yet know how dangerous the new coronavirus is – and we won’t know until more data comes in. Eighty-one deaths out of 2,827 reported cases would mean a 3% mortality rate. However, this is likely to be a overestimate since there may be a far larger pool of people who have been infected by the virus but who have not suffered severe enough symptoms to attend hospital and so have not been counted in the data. For comparison, seasonal flu typically has a mortality rate below 1% and is thought to cause about 400,000 deaths each year globally. Sars had a death rate of more than 10%.
Based on all the evidence so far, although this new outbreak is definitely something still developing that we need to keep an eye on, it is not yet a time for international panic.
YES, we should be taking the basic precautions: good hygiene, boosting your immune system, staying home if you are feeling unwell, and etcetera. However, I'm sure many of us have already witnessed reactions that are very disproportionate to the current situation at hand.
The mass media has discussed everything from legitimate and dispassionate fact reporting, to conspiracy theories about it being a biological weapon. There have also been plenty of tone-deaf or plainly racist overtones as well, from the Australian headlines "Chinese Virus: Panda-minium" to the French calling it "The Yellow Peril".
Social media is even worse, with little to no fact checking. Spreading fear, is also sadly spreading hate. Posts in the popular Facebook Community Subtle Asian Traits have racked up thousands of people spewing hate at each other in the comments below fairly moderate and well-written posts calling for level heads and an end to fear mongering. I've seen Chinese nationals calling for an end to racism against them, then turn around and discriminate against the people dwelling in Wuhan itself, who are rather like national pariahs in their own country at the moment.
Closer to home, earlier today in Australia two mothers came to physical blows after having an online disagreement about the coronavirus. There have been social media messages being spread advising people to avoid "Asian majority suburbs". A friend spoke of being avoided on public transport today and copping verbal abuse because she appeared to be of Chinese descent (but wasn't, which is yet another racist undertone).
On a less obvious, individual level, we should also take stock and see if we recognise any non-productive, "herd mentality" panic thought processes percolating in our own thoughts. Because that's the thing about fear: it's catching.
Have you decided to quit your job so you can stay at home and not come out? I know someone who has, which may be warranted if you are in a high risk area, but not so much in Melbourne, Victoria at this time of writing.
I overheard a conversation earlier where these two young girls trying to go out to have fun, were discussing where they dared go to shop and eat. It was pretty convoluted as they were discussing where overseas workers were most likely to be (um, considering Australia is a nation of migrants, everywhere?) so they could avoid those places.
I have a lot of sympathy for parents with young children as the parental instinct strikes out strongly to keep them protected in what is a rather difficult world. The little ones are also at higher risk as their immune system is not mature yet. However, there's a little less sympathy when this guides them to behaviour that isolates others who are definitely not high risk and gives rise to discriminatory and irresponsible behaviour.
I'm sure we have all seen negative behaviour like this modelled on an everyday basis, and it would be lovely if we could band together as a community to gently let people know when their behaviour is not the most logical and stand up for those being bullied whilst still being calm and kind.
Biologically, there is a link between feeling fear and exhibiting aggression. Aggression is caused in large part by the negative emotions that we experience as a result of the aversive events that occur to us and by our negative thoughts that accompany them (Berkowitz & Heimer, 1989). But we are evolved enough to control and confront fear, and that is by stepping back from the fear and chaos to put things into perspective.
Three nice little guidelines:
- Be considerate and keep others safe by reporting and self-isolating if you are feeling unwell
- Refrain from forwarding news that serves no purpose
- Be alert, but not alarmed
Be considerate, and be understanding. For what could be at more risk than our health, is the ties that bind us together as a community.
What we risk losing, is our humanity.