Sars
In 2003, 774 people were killed by Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in more than 30 countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Sars first emerged in Guangdong in southern China in November 2002 before becoming a health crisis in mid-2003. The viral respiratory illness was transmitted to man from horseshoe bats. Infections were primarily through person-to-person transmissions. With a mortality rate of 9.5 percent, no known cases of Sars have been reported since 2004.
