Michael Hart

Swine Flu: Memories of the SARS Scare Return

The biggest developing story during the weekend was the appearance of swine flu in Mexico and the startlingly swift response from a number of government officials, particularly in the United States.

The first impulse is to draw comparisons to the SARS outbreaks of five years ago. SARS was an acronym for severe acute respiratory syndrome, which, according to the World Health Organization, struck more than 8,000 people around the world and killed nearly 800, primarily in Asia.

It also closed down dozens of tradeshows, mostly in Singapore and Hong Kong, but also as far from the nexus of the crisis as Toronto.

Then it seems, almost as quickly as the SARS scare appeared, it was gone.

In its wake, many tradeshow organizers felt the urge to develop crisis plans to deal with similar disasters the next time around – some may have even actually gone ahead, once the scare was past, and actually prepared their contingency plans, in which case they have something to dust off this morning and review.

And, of course, insurance companies around the world added new clauses to show cancellation policies, making it likely there will be little opportunity to recoup losses if – heaven forbid – shows are canceled in the coming days because of the swine flu outbreaks.

Show organizers all over the world have to be asking themselves this morning, “What else can go wrong?” Even before this, there was a tough economy and the bad rep traveling for business has suddenly gotten to make it seem as if it’s never been harder to get attendees to shows.

If in the coming days people take the advice of public health officials and cut back on what is being termed unnecessary travel, show organizers will be compelled to be sensitive – just as airlines (another industry that doesn’t need any surprises at the moment) already have begun waiving penalties for passengers who are canceling or postponing flights to and from Mexico.

It also might be helpful to remember that the SARS scare, as difficult and as extensive as it was, did pass as well.

Posted by Michael Hart on April 27, 2009 | Comments (3)