That the world has shrank into a small village is never more manifest than the current breakout of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, epidemic. There are 5,462 known cases worldwide, with so far 353 deaths. Hardest hit were China, Hong Kong and Canada. But practically every continent has not been spared.

Even Borongan has its own case, although it might turn out to be a scare, rather than an actual incident. The facts are hard to piece together, but it seems an overseas foreign worker from Maydolong reportedly contracted the disease. She was cared for by a Borongan physician, who in turn showed symptoms of the illness. His clinical staff was checked.

But latest word from Borongan is that this may just be false alarm. A patient now confined at the Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital is also suspected of having the disease, but it has not been confirmed. In the entire Philippines, there are four reported cases and two have died.

False alarm or not, however, the scare our little town went through demonstrated how ill-equipped we truly are to combat something brought to us from afar. And how technology and travel have broken down borders, but maintained the walls that separate the haves and the have-nots among countries.

While we panicked at one suspected case - the San Juanico bridge was supposedly closed to prevent Samarenos from getting to Tacloban - the United States and Canada came up with sophisticated measures to prevent the spread of SARS.

There are at least 222 suspected cases in the U.S., but only 52 are considered probable, which means they show the symptoms and could have the disease. No one has died. Although a cure for the diseases has not been found yet, the spread of SARS was effectively neutralized by quarantine, and such measures as body temperature checks at airports.

It is worse in Canada with Toronto the hardest hit. There had been 148 reported cases and 20 have died, many in the Toronto area, where thee is a large Filipino population. In fact, many of the victims are Filipinos, according to Filipino newspapers there.

At one retreat for a Filipino prayer group, reportedly 31 showed signs of infection, although a tough quarantine has been imposed and Canadian health officials say, perhaps the worst is over.

A health scare almost always triggers a panic, and there was a rush for surgical masks and gloves, even at the hospital in Borongan, where unfortunately, the nurses even have to buy their own gloves. That's how poor we are!

Masks, however, have been proven to be not too effective preventive tool, health officials say. The common sense approach is to avoid areas where SARS is suspected and simple washing of the hands as often as practicable. Anti-bacterial lotion, alcohol swabs and other cleansing agents are also effective.

But in the big picture, there is not much we can do about a changing world, except to keep pace with the advances around us. Globalization is the reality now. It's the engine that runs commerce - and the movements of peoples.

Political systems are no longer the driving forces they once were. The Peopl's Republic of China, still a Communist country, was just as helpless as the great democracies of North America - the United States and Canada.

The perils - as well as the benefits - of globalization will be with us. Nothing we can do about it. We canot turn back the clock, but we can make it tick faster for our economic prosperity. If only our political leaders have a clearer vision of the future.