SARS: Political Pathology of the First Post-Westphalian Pathogen

In March 2003, the world discovered, again, that humanity's battle with infectious diseases continues. The twenty-first century began with infectious diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, being discussed as threats to human rights,1 economic development,2 and national security.3 Bioterrorism in the United

States in October 2001 increased concerns about pathogenic microbes. The global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the spring of 2003 kept the global infectious disease challenge at the forefront of world news for weeks. At its May 2003 annual meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) asserted that SARS is "the first severe infectious disease to emerge in the twenty-first century" and "poses a serious threat to global health security, the livelihood of populations, the functioning of health systems, and the stability and growth of economies."4

As an emerging threat, SARS presents novel problems for public health. SARS challenges scientists to develop diagnostics, treatments, and a vaccine for a virus-the SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-not previously identified in humans. Clinicians struggled to diagnose and treat those infected with the SARS-CoV. SARS forced public health officials to respond to the international spread of a new pathogen amplified by globalization. SARS reintroduced societies to long-dormant, large-scale isolation and quarantine practices, raising questions about balancing public health and individual rights.