SARS: Crisis and Opportunity of Global Public Health

Dr. Nancy W. Dickey, President and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center

SARS is the first pandemic of the 21st century. No country, no continent, and no individual group of people, are spared from this formidable disease. China is one of the countries that has been most impacted. The United States has one of the most advanced global public healthcare technologies and systems; and The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center teaches and researches in the areas of community epidemiology, microbiology, and health policy.

The goal of the roundtable session will be to identify lessons learned and gaps in our understanding, our response processes, and our policies. Subsequent discussion will be directed to areas of future research including:

• Policies regarding isolation or quarantine of travelers
  
• Impact of policies upon students and their respective academic institutions
  
• Impact upon travelers who are detained for potentially prolonged periods of time
  
• How to protect the economic infrastructures while protecting communities from contagion
  
• Defining the roles, interfaces, and responsibilities of public health entities in countries that are sites of emerging infections and countries who are potential recipients of travelers exposed to emerging infections
  
• The hard science of rapid identification, treatment, and prevention