What is "severe acute respiratory syndrome"

n. (context pathology English) A form of pneumonia due to infection by a coronavirus ((taxlink Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus species noshow=1)) characterized by fever, myalgia, lethargy and coughing, which can be fatal.

n. a respiratory disease of unknown etiology that apparently originated in mainland China in 2003; characterized by fever and coughing or difficulty breathing or hypoxia; can be fatal [syn: SARS]

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China caused an eventual 8,096 cases and 774 deaths reported in 37 countries, with the majority of cases in Hong Kong (9.6% fatality rate) according to the World Health Organization (WHO). No cases of SARS have been reported worldwide since 2004.