SARSSevereacuterespiratorysyndrome(SARS)isaviralrespiratoryillnesscausedbyacoronavirus,calledSARS-associatedcoronavirus(SARS-CoV)
SARSwasfirstreportedinAsiainFebruary2003
Overthenextfewmonths,theillnessspreadtomorethantwodozencountriesinNorthAmerica,SouthAmerica,Europe,andAsiabeforetheSARSglobaloutbreakof2003wascontained
ThisfactsheetgivesbasicinformationabouttheillnessandwhatCDChasdonetocontrolSARSintheUnitedStates
TofindoutmoreaboutSARS,gotoCDC'sSARSwebsiteandWHO'sSARSwebsite
TheSARSoutbreakof2003AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO),atotalof8,098peopleworldwidebecamesickwithSARSduringthe2003outbreak
Ofthese,774died
IntheUnitedStates,onlyeightpeoplehadlaboratoryevidenceofSARS-CoVinfection
AllofthesepeoplehadtraveledtootherpartsoftheworldwithSARS
SARSdidnotspreadmorewidelyinthecommun