Unless you've been living under a rock lately (which may be the safest place to be right now), you've probably heard of SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. If not, I'll relay what I know. It started in Hong Kong, and because the Chinese government wanted to keep a lid on it, no one knew about it until it was too late. Visitors to Hong Kong flew back to their own countries bringing the disease with them. Right now, it has spread to China, Vietnam, Singapore, and there are cases in Canada and the US. There have been no cases yet reported in Indonesia or Malaysia, though it may be just a matter of time. It's a major problem.

Scientists think they've traced SARS to a strain of coronavirus that is normally responsible for the common cold, but has mutated into a virulent pneumonia. For more specifics on symptoms and statistics, there's good information at the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control.

I wish I could say this was an April Fool's joke, but it's not.

My biggest worry is the outbreak in Singapore, obviously since Janet is there, and I'm hoping to go visit her the last two weeks in May. Though she says that Singapore has been really good about containing it and quarantining those who've contracted the disease. No new cases have been reported in the last two days, so if there are no new cases in ten days (the maximum incubation period of the virus), they will have it contained. As long as no one else brings it into the country.

I tried three times yesterday to buy my ticket to Singapore, and was unable to complete the process each time. I don't know if this is related at all to the SARS outbreak, but it seems a big coincidence. I'm going to call Expedia today and see what the deal is.

As if we didn't have enough to deal with.

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The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

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