Jenny Wong has an empty seat on the bus she takes to work these days.

The Malaysian-Canadian university student of Chinese descent is a victim of SARS - not the deadly disease but the branding that has come along with it.

As Canada steels itself against the onslaught of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the stereotyping of Asians and people of Asian descent is becoming sickening.

"I don't care? people tend to do this? look on the bright side... I don't have to sit next to a stinky bum or the lady with the heavy perfume for a while," said Wong.

The impact on Wong may have a silver lining but for merchants at the Yaohan mall in Richmond, the fallout from SARS is killing their business.

They, like the counterparts in Toronto's Chinese malls, have fallen victim to rumours fuelled by panic, greed and a lack of knowledge.

Others by virtue of being Asian are being shunned, eyed suspiciously and are generally feeling the brunt of a disease that has been wrongly dubbed an Asian malady.

The stereotyping has become so bad that is leading towards xenophobic attitudes against people from the Far East.

The Chinese community also has to take its fair share of blame for spreading rumours about the disease and stories about the infected dropping dead in shopping malls.

In some cases, text-messaging and Chinese chat rooms have become so bad that police have initiated investigations into the posted rumours.

These unfounded stories are leading to people losing their jobs because businesses have been so adversely impacted.

For instance workers at the Pacific Mall, north of Toronto, said business has been horrible for about two weeks now. Merchants blame the Chinese community's widespread unease on baseless e-mail rumours that singled out the shopping mall, a restaurant, and a few other businesses, suggesting they are hotbeds for the virus.

"Some lawless people spread rumours through the Internet that a staff member from our restaurant contracted the virus," said a spokesperson for Ruby's Chinese Restaurant.

"In addition to attacking our business' image, they caused unnecessary public panic and affected the whole community.

"Not many Chinese people want to go out to eat and many people are staying at home." Health officials confirmed the rumour had no merit and added that police are investigating and trying to track down the e-mail's original sender.

He said business dropped by as much as 80 per cent and in all cost the restaurant somewhere between $15,000 and $20,000 in lost revenue.

There is no doubt that there is a need for concern about SARS, which has killed close to 100 people around the world and infected thousands.

But while there is need for concern to stop the spread there is no need for panic.

To put SARS into its proper perspective, the common flu kills about 36,000 individuals a year.

Canadians need to steel themselves against the onslaught of the SARS fallout.

Media in its reporting must take extra care to stop fuelling the perception that SARS is an Asian disease spread by Asians.

Overreaction in legislating heavy-handed public-health measures, mandatory quarantines and screening of targeted passengers are at best shots in the dark that leave a bad taste and little effect.

Patience and precaution must replace panic and prejudice if we are going to beat this plague and others that will surely come.