Severe acute respiratory syndrome |Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome| |Classification and external resources| SARS
coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is causative of the syndrome. Severe
acute respiratory syndrome (SARS, pron.: // SARZ) is a viral
respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS
coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Between November 2002 and July 2003, an
outbreak of SARS in South China and then Hong Kong nearly became
a pandemic, with 8,273 cases and 775 deaths worldwide (9.6%
fatality) according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Within weeks, SARS spread from Hong Kong to infect individuals
in 37 countries in early 2003. SARS is not claimed to have been
eradicated (unlike for example smallpox), as it may still be
present in its natural host reservoirs (animal populations) and
may return to the human population. During the outbreak, the
fatality of SARS was less than 1% for people aged 24 or younger,
6% for those 25 to 44, 15% for those 45 to 64, and more than 50%
for those over 65. For comparison, the