ABSTRACT
Originating in southern China during late 2002, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is believed to have spread to Hong Kong via a medical doctor—a so-called “super-spreader”—who became infected after treating SARS patients. During his stay in a hotel, the doctor transmitted the disease to about a dozen residents, who in turn spread the disease within Hong Kong and to other countries through air travel (World Health Organization 2003a). During 2003, the disease affected people in 29 countries and claimed thousands of lives. The outbreak died down after July 2003 almost as rapidly as it emerged. The reason that SARS was successfully combated within such a relatively short period can be attributed to the utility of science as a way of seeking knowledge and solving human problems. However, behind this apparent success, there are numerous issues, dilemmas, tensions, and controversies relating to the operation and communication of science within the scientific community and society. Understanding the complexity of science communication and its underlying influences is important for resolving similar crises in the future. Because of space limitation, this chapter necessarily adopts a snapshot approach, by focusing on a number of critical incidents during the crisis to illustrate important issues at different levels of science communication. These issues are further reffected upon so as to throw light on the lessons learnt in this specific context. Before analyzing the case of the SARS crisis, it is important to revisit the roles that science plays in society, as these underpinned science communication during the crisis.
