SARS Epidemic — 23 Years Ago

A New Virus Spreads Across the World

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) emerged in southern China in late 2002. By early 2003, it had spread to more than 37 countries, infecting over 8,000 people and killing 774. The disease was caused by a novel coronavirus — a type of virus also responsible for common colds — that had jumped from animals to humans. SARS spread primarily through droplets in the air and through contact with contaminated surfaces, making hospitals particularly dangerous environments.

The Global Response

The World Health Organization issued its first global travel advisory in 55 years during the SARS outbreak, warning against non-essential travel to affected areas. Countries introduced temperature screening at airports. Hong Kong, Toronto, and Beijing were hit especially hard. Healthcare workers bore a disproportionate burden — many became infected while treating patients. China initially tried to suppress news of the outbreak, which allowed it to spread further before international health authorities were notified.

What SARS Taught the World

SARS was contained by July 2003 through isolation, quarantine, and infection control measures — no vaccine was ever developed. Its containment was considered a major public health success. But the outbreak exposed critical gaps in global disease surveillance and information sharing. It led to a major revision of the International Health Regulations in 2005, requiring countries to report certain disease events to the WHO. The lessons of SARS directly shaped — and in some countries greatly improved — responses to COVID-19 seventeen years later. See the first antibiotic story for earlier medical milestones.