What Is SARS?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is a potentially deadly illness that quickly spread around the world in 2003. It’s a viral infection that causes flu-like symptoms. Sudden Outbreak SARS first sprang to the world’s attention in early 2003, when more than 8,000 people got sick in an outbreak that spread to 26 countries. Nearly 800 people died. Doctors and scientists tracked the disease to southeastern China, near Hong Kong. From there, travelers soon carried SARS to other countries in Asia, such as Vietnam and Singapore, as well as Europe and Canada. Public health officials around the world scrambled to contain the outbreak. We’ve had no reported cases since 2004. Causes SARS is caused by a virus that takes over your body’s cells and uses them to make copies of itself. The SARS virus is from a group known as coronaviruses, which also cause the common cold. SARS can spread when people who have it cough or sne...