title: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): breath-taking progress.
abstract: Reports of a new severe respiratory disease, now defined as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), began to emerge from Guangdong, in southern China, in late 2002. The condition came to international attention through an explosive outbreak in Hong Kong in March 2003. Cases appeared throughout South-East Asia and in Toronto, the spread of SARS being accelerated by international air travel. A global emergency was declared by the World Health Organization, bringing together an international team of epidemiologists, public health physicians and microbiologists to study and contain the disease. This response has enabled the nature of the infectious agent to be identified, its mode of transmission to be established and diagnostic tests to be created rapidly.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Laboratory, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK 2Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK 3University College London, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK.
authors.forename: Peter M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Hawkey
authors.affiliation: Public Health Laboratory, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK 2Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK 3University College London, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhagani
authors.affiliation: Public Health Laboratory, Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, Bordesley Green East, Birmingham B9 5SS, UK 2Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, London NW3 2QG, UK 3University College London, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK.
authors.forename: Stephen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Gillespie
mesh_terms: D003140:Communicable Disease Control; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission*; D006113:United Kingdom; D014944:World Health Organization