Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS)
SARS is an infectious respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus. The first cases of SARS occurred in late 2002 in the Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China. Because of the contagious nature of the disease and the delayed public-health response, the epidemic spread rapidly around the globe. Final statistics from the World Health Organization showed 8,096 reported illnesses and 774 deaths.

The rapid transmission and high mortality rate (about 10%) of SARS drew international attention and concern. Fortunately, public-health efforts to identify and quarantine infected people proved highly effective. By July 2003, human-to-human transmission of SARS had stopped.

Unfortunately, future outbreaks of SARS are still possible because the virus lives in wild bats and civets in China and in laboratory cultures. In fact, there were a few human cases of SARS in 2004 as a result of laboratory accidents in the People's Republic of China. No human cases have been identified since.

The previously unknown coronavirus that causes this syndrome was first identified in Asia in early 2003, hence its name, "SARS-associated coronavirus" or SARS-CoV. As of October 2012, SARS-CoV has been added to the National Select Agent Registry, which regulates the handling and possession of bacteria, viruses, or toxins that have potential to pose a severe threat to public health and safety. The addition of SARS-CoV permits maintenance of a national database and inspection of entities that possess, use, or transfer SARS-CoV; it also ensures that all individuals who work with these agents undergo security-risk assessment performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation/Criminal Justice Information Service.