An acquaintance of mine contacted me today. He was quite proud of himself for being involved in the story of a young Fresno girl he suspected of having SARS.

He mentioned that he had a “contact” at the hospital who had seen some lab reports on the little girl, and was concerned that “proper precautions were not being taken.” Being infinitely smarter than the doctors and nurses who were treating the girl, the two of them apparently (so my acquaintance says) reported it to the Fresno Bee.

According to the Bee, the child does not have SARS. Based on what the story says, it would appear that the doctor didn’t really think SARS was the likely diagnosis anyway. (Chest x-rays—part of the diagnostic procedures that a HIPPA violator, even with access to lab results, may not see—were done and apparently this and other information lead the physician to believe it was not SARS.)

Personally, I feel much safer these days—well, except as to my privacy—knowing that I live in a country filled with people who not only support government deprecation of civil rights, but won’t let even the few remaining privacy-oriented laws stop them from reporting my personal health to the newspaper if they don’t like the way my doctor is handling things and it gives them a chance to feel important.