NEWS: S. Asian Canadian doctors lead battle against SARS

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S. Asian Canadian doctors lead battle against SARS

By Ela Dutt, Indo-Asian News Service

Toronto, Apr 30 (IANS) Canadians of South Asian origin have been at the
forefront of a battle to contain the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) that has killed at least 21 people in this country.

It has become commonplace over a few weeks to see Mumbai-educated Colin
D'Cunha, Ontario's commissioner of public health and assistant deputy
minister, and Sheela Basrur, medical officer of Toronto, either under fire
or being commended for their handling of the SARS threat.

Also in the lead against SARS is Hanif Kassam, York region medical officer
of health. The York region is adjacent to and north of Toronto city in
Ontario.

While some may not consider it a success yet, Ontario has managed to stem
the rising tide of cases -- no new cases have occurred over the last two
incubation periods or 20 days in all.

This heralds a possible peaking of the respiratory disease that has
frightened people away from Toronto.

The disease has shattered Toronto's economic stronghold as one of the most
pleasant and most visited cities in North America, the hub of Hollywood
movie productions, a city where the best film festivals and music
extravaganzas debut, and where many of the world's major conventions and
conferences are hosted.

No sooner had D'Cunha taken over in January as commissioner of public health
than a SARS case occurred in mid-March. A Toronto resident returned from
Asia, carrying the virus infecting her son, who also died.

Other members of her family as well as health workers who took care of these
patients were also infected.

>From then on, all those who came down with the disease -- marked by
pneumonia-like symptoms and shortness of breath -- were connected in some
fashion with the hospital where the first case was treated.

D'Cunha and Kassam at one point were frustrated by some suspected SARS cases
not remaining in quarantine, and the latter had to resort to police pressure
to keep people confined. They did not hesitate to do that for the greater
good.

Despite criticism that Ontario was slow to recognise the threat when the
province of British Columbia on the west coast of Canada moved rapidly to
prevent any infection, Basrur and D'Cunha have maintained a calm that
virtually nobody else in the public was able to.

A reassuring certitude and an honest, frank and highly educational approach
stressed preventive methods and melted the fears of Torontonians.

D'Cunha had been chief medical officer of health for Ontario since October
1998 until he was named the public health commissioner. He has 17 years
experience in public health at both local and provincial levels of
government.

He is active in federal-provincial population health matters and is an
advocate of healthy public policy. He is credited with reducing the other
epidemic that hits Ontario annually -- the influenza epidemic for which he
started the free immunisation programme, as well as the West Nile Virus that
has killed a few people in the U.S. over the last two years.

"I have great confidence in D'Cunha's abilities because of the way he has
administered recent public health promotion programmes such as the highly
successful universal influenza immunisation programme," said Deputy Minister
of Health and Long-Term Care Phil Hassen.

Sheela Basrur became medical officer of health for Toronto Public Health,
one of the largest public health bodies in North America, in January 1998.
She 1eads an organisation of some 1,500 staff committed to providing disease
prevention and health promotion initiatives across Toronto.

Prior to accepting this post, Basrur served as medical officer of health for
the East York Health Unit for six years.

She practised medicine as a general practitioner in Guelph, Ontario, before
entering public health. She holds a master's degree in health science from
the University of Toronto and is a specialist in community medicine.

She is also considered a leader in cleaning up the environment in Toronto
and has received several awards and recognitions.

--Indo-Asian News Service