title: Severe acute respiratory syndrome, Beijing, 2003.
abstract: The largest outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck Beijing in spring 2003. Multiple importations of SARS to Beijing initiated transmission in several healthcare facilities. Beijing's outbreak began March 5; by late April, daily hospital admissions for SARS exceeded 100 for several days; 2,521 cases of probable SARS occurred. Attack rates were highest in those 20-39 years of age; 1% of cases occurred in children <10 years. The case-fatality rate was highest among patients >65 years (27.7% vs. 4.8% for those 20-64 years, p < 0.001). Healthcare workers accounted for 16% of probable cases. The proportion of case-patients without known contact to a SARS patient increased significantly in May. Implementation of early detection, isolation, contact tracing, quarantine, triage of case-patients to designated SARS hospitals, and community mobilization ended the outbreak.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Municipal Health Bureau and Beijing Municipal Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wannian
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Zonghan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jiyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Zejun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Weigong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Daniel P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuchat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D021821:Communicable Diseases, Emerging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D017758:Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000635:transmission