CATCHING CRUMBS: Optimism has its virtues. But aren’t we looking too forward announcing from the rooftops our desire to win some contracts for the post-war rehabilitation of Iraq?

Malacanang has formed at least two top-level groups, one bound for Washington and another for Kuwait, with the avowed goal of landing some contracts. At the very least, we want to secure jobs for a significant number of our skilled workers.

Everybody’s watching if President Arroyo’s joining the “coalition of the willing” supporters of President George W. Bush will bring us some economic dividends. What we’ve noticed so far is that the juicy contracts are being given to favored American firms.

Maybe it’s a matter of style, but we would rather see our teams pursuing their assignments with less noise and lost motion. That way, we won’t find it embarrassing if we end up catching the crumbs at the victory party.

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MORE ON SARS: Can the surgical masks being worn by a growing number of people screen out the virus known to cause SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) that has killed at least 200 worldwide?

If you caught the SARS virus on your skin, is alcohol enough to kill it? Is chlorine bleach an effective cleanser for materials that may have been contaminated?

You must have read or heard information on the above questions, but for those who haven’t, we are passing on the information below culled mainly from dispatches from Hong Kong, one of the places hardest hit by SARS.

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WHAT MASKS CAN DO: The culprit is a corona virus (shaped like a crown). The corona virus has two groups: the human one and the mouse/cow group. The normal human group does not cause such severe illness, so the World Health Organization and some American scientists are analyzing the DNA code to see if it is more related to mouse or cow.

This virus is about 1 micron big, or one-millionth of a meter. Manufacturers claim that normal surgical masks can screen out particles that are 0.5 micron. The N95 mask can screen out 0.3 micron, while N100 is rated for 0.1mocron.

The N95 mask (3M brand) is retailed for P140, but supply has run out. Ordinary face masks are priced at P12.50, but they have also disappeared from the market because of rising demand.

In high risk areas, personnel are urged to wear an eye shield in addition to a surgical mask for improved protection.

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VIRUS’ LIFETIME: Is it possible for the virus to die before it can harm the potential victim? The lifetime of the virus, which ranges from 2 hours to 24 hours, depends on the temperature and the humidity.

The lower the temperature and the humidity, the longer it survives. The warmer and wetter the ambience, the faster it dies.

Operators of airlines and other vehicles carrying groups of people in a closed environment will find this detail useful in adopting precautionary measures.

The humidity (usually 50 percent in an aircraft) and the temperature are controlled by the air-conditioning system. Air-conditioning makes for comfort, but it may also create an environment favorable to prolonging the life of the virus and spreading it since the passengers breathe the same recycled air.

We have not read anything to the effect that we in the Philippines are safer because the temperature and the humidity here are higher than in the places hardest hit. Don’t bank on that possibility.

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SAME DIRTY AIR: The same health problem posed by air-conditioning exists in public transportation, such as buses and taxicabs, and in enclosed places such as hotel rooms and elevators.

If somebody already pushed the elevator button or turned a doorknob, there is no need to repeat that routine. Same thing with escalator handrails — and also money — that have been proved to be carriers of all sorts of viruses and germs.

In air-conditioned public vehicles, the recycled air that passengers breathe together is not the only possible source of infection. There are the seats, the door handles and everything else that passengers may touch.

In this country, nobody is enforcing the rules on cleanliness in public conveyances.

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ALCOHOL HELPFUL: The membrane covering the virus is lipid (fat). Contact with 70-percent solution alcohol will kill it within seconds. The authorities say bleach will also do.

The alcohol for household/personal use that is bought in drugstores and supermarkets is usually 70 percent, assuming the labeling is honest. (Will the health department or some consumer group please check?).

The most common alcohol in the market is isopropyl, but our personal preference (which has nothing to do with SARS) is ethyl alcohol. Some readers may want to help educate the public on the difference and the comparative advantages of one type over the other.

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ORAL-FECAL ROUTE: Other than transmission by droplets released usually when a carrier talks, sneezes or coughs, another likely route is oral-fecal.

In Amoy Gardens in Hong Kong, researchers were able to isolate the virus from the feet of cockroaches and the feces of rats.

This highlights the need for toilet hygiene. Authorities advise us to flush the toilet with the lid down, and to clean it with bleach after flushing — not before (because, they explain, bleach and chlorine will be deactivated once in contact with organic matters).

Hygiene is not confined to the toilet. It must extend to the kitchen, hallways and everywhere the virus may lurk.

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DEATH TRAP?: We’ve noticed that many suspected SARS victims abroad were rushed to the hospital where they quickly died after a rapid deterioration of their condition.

We’re no hospital administration expert, but we’ve talked to many doctors who admit that even ICUs (Intensive Care Units) reek with all sorts of germs, microbes, viruses, etc. that have developed immunity from drugs and disinfectants.

Is it possible that a mere pneumonia patient or one simply suffering from a respiratory ailment with high fever is rushed to a special SARS room and actually catches the more virulent SARS virus in that room?

With confirmed SARS patients being confined in that special room and with the corona virus resisting all known drugs, is it not likely that that room is crawling with the virus waiting for the next unwary victim?

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INFOTECH NOTES: We have encountered cases of personal computers suddenly acting up, then hanging. But after being switched off and allowed to “rest,” the PC booted again normally — only to hang again after some time.

In many cases, we traced the problem to overheating. With the hot season here, many PCs in homes and offices without air-conditioning and where the PCs are kept under a table or in a corner where hardly any air moves, overheating ensues.

This is more prevalent with PCs that use the higher-speed Pentium and AMD processors that generate intense heat but lack the needed ventilation and appropriate cooling fans.

We solved the overheating by installing an auxiliary fan. Such a fan is inexpensive and easy to install. For first aid, train an electric fan on the PC to help cool it.

A few cases of hanging were traced to the AGP or graphics card (the one connected to the monitor) being incompatible with the Pentium-4 motherboard. The card will work for some months, but will soon prove problematic and even damage the motherboard.

Check your AGP card’s specifications and that of the motherboard to see if they are compatible. If they are not compatible and your motherboard still works, change the card.