Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
SARS
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
2003 SARS epidemic in Asia SARS epidemic, 2002–03
Quizzes
full human skeleton
Diseases, Disorders, and More: A Medical Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes
Read Next
People wearing surgical masks (also called face mask or medical masks or safety masks) walk through the city center of Milan, Italy on Feb. 23, 2020. Coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic
How Do Face Masks Control the Spread of Disease?
Harlem resident Eleanor Kennedy, left, waits in line during a (coronavirus) COVID-19 antibody test drive at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, in the Harlem neighborhood of the Manhattan. Churches in low income communities across New York are offering COVID-1
Why Does COVID-19 Disproportionately Affect African Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos?
Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 - Colorized scanning electron micrograph of an apoptotic cell (green) heavily infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles (purple), isolated from a patient sample. Image captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated...
What Is the Difference Between Influenza and COVID-19?
Transmission electron microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19, formerly known as 2019-nCoV. The spherical viral particles, colorized blue, contain cross-sections through the viral genome, seen as black dots. (coronavirus)
Why Is It Important to Know the Incubation Period of a Disease?
Scanning electron micrograph showing the spiral-shaped bacteria of the genus Leptospira. These organisms cause leptospirosis.
8 Zoonotic Diseases
Discover
Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
Portrait of a mountain gorilla at a short distance. gorilla close up portrait.The mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei)
Falling Stars: 10 of the Most Famous Endangered Species
Poker game. Card game. Royal Flush in poker. Hearts suit gambling
Poker Hands Ranked
Drinking water is poured into a glass.
Water Fluoridation: Just the Facts
Aurochs. Bos primigenius. Skeleton. Extinct animal. Skeleton of an Aurochs, an extinct wild ox.
6 Animals We Ate Into Extinction
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
US Marines firing at Fallujah, Iraq, during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq War.
Timeline of the 2000s

SARS: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/SARS
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Electromagnetic waves disrupt SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and lower infectivity • May 19, 2025, 12:09 AM ET (News-Medical)
Top secret US research lab studying SARS-CoV-2 shut amid safety concerns • May 1, 2025, 10:21 AM ET (The Telegraph)

Facts

Also Known As severe acute respiratory syndrome

Did You Know?

  • Some conspiracy theorists claim that the United States intentionally created the virus and utilized it as a bioweapon against China.
  • Although SARS has not surfaced again since the 200203 outbreak, researchers are still searching for a cure just in case.

Photos

2003 SARS epidemic in Asia
SARS epidemic, 2002–03
See All Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics

Key People

Chan, Margaret
Margaret Chan
Chinese civil servant
Sheela Basrur
Canadian physician and government official

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes
full human skeleton
Diseases, Disorders, and More: A Medical Quiz