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Pandemics: A Universal Issue Chancellor's Dialogue delves into issues of global epidemics
Dr. Bondar, who combines the expertise of science, space and medicine through her education and experience, admitted that the "outer space" headline was as incredible as it sounded, but just barely. She suggested that human exploration in space could potentially introduce hazardous elements into our earthly existence. "It behooves us to take lessons from the SARS outbreak," she said. "We have to take all the epidemics and apply them to the greater sphere." Joining Dr. Bondar for the March 9, 2004 Dialogue was an eminent panel of experts in the spread of disease, its science, management and broad-reaching implications: Dr. James G. Young, Commissioner of Public Security and Chief Coroner for the province of Ontario, a prominent face in the media during the SARS crisis; Dr. Tim Rutledge, Chief of Emergency Medicine at North York General Hospital; Dr. Nuala Kenny, a professor of pediatrics and the founder and head of the Department of Bioethics at Dalhousie University; and Dr. Craig Brunetti, a member of Trent's Biology department whose research concerns the molecular biology of viruses that infect humans. The audience at Trent's Wenjack Theatre was a mix of health care professionals--from infectious disease experts to risk management specialists--as well as Trent faculty and students and interested members of the public. Dr. Rutledge spoke of the heart-rending experiences of managing the first cases of SARS and "the lowest point" in the battle when the hospital lost one of its nurses to the disease. He also recalled the loss of the human touch when patients and health care staff had to wear heavy protective gear. "You want to see them smile and grimace," he said of the patients. "You lose those signals and they lose your signals."
From Dr. Young's perspective, SARS was a tragic yet important experience in the face of what might befall us tomorrow. "SARS gives us an idea what a pandemic might look like," he said. "We didn't know this wasn't the big one. We didn't know this wasn't The Pandemic." Trent University's Dr. Brunetti provided a wealth of research context from his work in molecular biology concerning viruses that infect humans and he spoke to improvements in research over the past two decades - as well as the need for improved communication between scientists. "The basic research provides essential knowledge of the disease we're going to fight," he said. "What took 10 years for HIV has been done in a number of months for SARS." Since SARS, there have been new initiatives to link researchers - a virtual network of scientists, so that the scientific community will communicate more effectively." Rounding out the discussion in terms of the ethics of disease control, Dr. Nuala Kenny spoke to the topic: "Are we overdosing on risk: What is safe enough?" Speculating on the tough decisions that would be required around a pandemic, Dr. Kenny suggested that public policy is fraught with risk. "I think we've forgotten how vulnerable human health is, that risk is everywhere," she said. "When we deal in these issues, we have to deal with them balancing the unknowns. Just as dealing with SARS wasn't easy, good public policy isn't easy." Dr. Kenny also sent a strong message about the state of the country's health care system. "We had let public health care in this country go into decline," she said. Countless questions to the panel from the audience, and from Dr. Bondar herself, kept the discussion going well into the evening. Trent's ninth Chancellor promised more events of topical import in the years to come, "at least once a year," she said, "maybe twice if there's an issue that we urgently need to discuss." Dr. Bondar invited the community to provide input for future dialogues. Ideas will be received at communications@trentu.ca Photo 1: Dr. Roberta Bondar, hosting her first Chancellor's Dialogues at Trent University Photo 2: Dr. Craig Brunetti, a member of Trent's Biology department whose research concerns the molecular biology of viruses that infect humans; Dr. Nuala Kenny, a professor of pediatrics and the founder and head of the Department of Bioethics at Dalhousie University; Dr. James G. Young, Commissioner of Public Security and Chief Coroner for the province of Ontario, a prominent face in the media during the SARS crisis; Trent Chancellor Roberta Bondar; and Dr. Tim Rutledge, Chief of Emergency Medicine at North York General Hospital. Posted March 9, 2004 |
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"I came across this article that said SARS is from outer space," said Trent chancellor Dr. Roberta Bondar, in front of a backdrop of rare images of distant planets, solar flares and astronauts heading into quarantine. In her opening remarks to her first-ever Chancellor's Dialogues at Trent University, Dr. Bondar set the stage for a night of lively discussion, solemn reflection, and even speculation on life-threatening viruses like SARS and avian influenza, their potential origins and the systems and ethics involved in containing them. The title of the Dialogue was "SARS: How Do We Protect Ourselves in an Age of Global Epidemics?" 
Continuing on the theme of the human impact, Dr. Young talked about "the huge number of people who made tremendous sacrifices" to contain the disease. "The decisions made by my group were as informed as they could be. I know people who had SARS . . . The personal point of view is the right way to look at it. You never forget this is affecting individuals and that makes you try even harder."