SARS
Beijing west station.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus ( SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first-identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARSr- CoV). In late 2017, Chinese scientists traced the virus through the intermediary of Asian palm In late 2017, Chinese scientists traced the virus through the intermediary of Asian palm civets to cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in Yunnan.
SARS was a relatively rare disease; at the end of the epidemic in June 2003, the incidence was 8,422 cases with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 11%. No cases of SARS-CoV have been reported worldwide since 2004.
In 2019, the related virus strain severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was discovered. This new strain causes COVID-19, a disease which brought about the COVID-19 pandemic.