SARS!

A barely understood type of killer pneumonia which was called Severe Acute Respiratory Disease Syndrome (SARS) by the World Health Organization (WHO) wreaked havoc in 4 continents and 17 countries around the world in the first half of 2003. It was thought to be caused by virus, affected more than 8000 people and killed around 800. Hong Kong was the worst hit followed by Singapore. Early case of illness spread from China in mid December 2002. But the real global accelerant was Hong Kong from where the air travelers took it rapidly across the world. This was seen in countries of Vietnam, Canada, United States, Australia, etc. the main symptoms of SARS included dry cough, loss of appetite, flu-like high fever above 100.4 deg F, shortness of breath, Headache, rashes, Diarrhea, etc. with the economic downturn at that point of time, SARS did give a severe blow. Stores, hotels, aircrafts emptied as people stayed home, afraid of getting infected.