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| An electron microscopic image of a thin section of SARS-CoV within the cytoplasm of an infected cell, showing the spherical particles and cross-sections through the viral nucleocapsid. Photo Credit: Content Providers(s): CDC/C.S. Goldsmith Source: https://www.cdc.gov/sars/lab/images.html |
There were over 8,000 people from 29 countries and territories were infected and 774 died worldwide. The significant part of the outbreak lasted for 8 months since the World Health Organization declared SARS held on 5 July 2003. But, several SARS cases were reported until May 2004.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a strain of coronavirus related to the one which causes SARS.
Symptoms of SARS CoV involve fever, cough, severe headache, dizziness and other flu-like illnesses. The illness presents as atypical pneumonia that seems not to react to regular treatments. There were 8,098 confirmed cases of SARS from November 2002 to July 2003, with 774 deaths.
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Here is a table by Wikipedia showing Probable cases of SARS by country and territory.
| Country or region | Cases | Deaths | Fatality (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland China[a] | 5,327 | 349 | 6.6 | |
| Hong Kong | 1,755 | 299 | 17.0 | |
| Taiwan[b] | 346 | 73 | 21.1 | |
| Canada | 251 | 43 | 17.1 | |
| Singapore | 238 | 33 | 13.9 | |
| Vietnam | 63 | 5 | 7.9 | |
| United States | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Philippines | /14 | 2 | 14.3 | |
| Thailand | 9 | 2 | 22.2 | |
| Germany | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mongolia | 9 | 0 | 0 | |
| France | 7 | 1 | 14.3 | |
| Australia | 6 | 0 | 0 | |
| Malaysia | 5 | 2 | 40.0 | |
| Sweden | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| United Kingdom | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Italy | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| India | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Korea | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Indonesia | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | |
| Kuwait | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ireland | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Macao | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Romania | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Russia | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spain | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total excluding China | 2,769 | 454 | 16.4 | |
| Total (29 territories) | 8,096 | 810 | 9.6 | |
Overview
In November 2002, doctors in the Guandong province of southeastern China started to see the first cases of what would become recognised as SARS or 'severe acute respiratory syndrome'. Over the next several months, 8,096 people in 26 countries caught the new viral illness, leading 774 deaths. Although the slow broadcasting of initial SARS cases improved the illness spread, globally-enforced medical practices finally helped end the outbreak.
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| People wearing masks to protect against the SARS virus in Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway on March 31, 2003. The death toll at the time of this photograph was 13 with 530 people infected. The reasons for the slow reporting of SARS are difficult. Doctors had never seen the viral illness before, and, those in Guangdong province thought the SARS cases they were seeing might be atypical pneumonia. Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images Credit: History.com |
Arnold S. Monto, a professor of epidemiology and global public health at the University of Michigan says, “Nobody was aware of it, including probably people in Beijing”. Even after doctors began to realise that there was something new about the illnesses they were seeing, “it was kept locally for a while, which was one of the problems.”
There were also reports that officials may have encouraged doctors not to announce new cases when SARS spread to Beijing. In April 2003, Time magazine received a letter from Jiang Yangyong, a physician at an army hospital in Beijing, declaring the actual number of SARS cases in the capital city was much higher than the official count. This turned out to be true, and Chinese officials released the real numbers that month (and also began to monitor Jiang).
Want to read more? Continue reading the 'history.com' article.
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