On 16 November 2002, an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) began in China's Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong. A farmer in the Shunde district of Foshan County was likely the first case of infection. The People's Republic of China notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about this outbreak on 10 February 2003, reporting 305 cases including 105 health-care workers and five deaths.[6] Later it reported that the outbreak in Guangdong had peaked in mid-February 2003.