Epidemiological investigations suggest that SARS probably emerged independently in several of Guangzhou’s satellite cities, circulating for at least two months before causing the outbreak in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong. The first wave was marked by the cases circulating around in Guangzhou’s satellite cities. The index case of SARS that fit the WHO definition was reported in Foshan on November 16, 2002. The second case was identified in a chef who reported having atypical pneumonia. This chef had regular contact with different types of live caged animals. He sought medical treatment in Heyuan, and similar cases to the Heyuan outbreak were found in Zhongshan. 

The First Wave of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003 

The second wave of SARS began when some complicated SARS cases from satellite cities were transferred to the major hospitals in Guangzhou for better medical care. The index case in Guangzhou was a seafood merchant who was admitted in late January of 2003. After staying in the hospital for 18 hours, more than 30 hospital staff were infected. Family members and relatives of the patient who had close personal contact with the patient had also become ill with the disease. This index case caused many secondary infections that further spread and gave rise to the outbreak in Guangzhou.

The Second Wave of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003 

Superspreader events resulted in several SARS epidemics outside of Guangdong. One of these events occurred in mid-February, when a doctor from Guangzhou traveled to Hong Kong, resulting in a major SARS outbreak within Hong Kong. He infected many other people during his stay at a hotel, also resulting in transmissions to other countries from this single case. International air travel allowed the disease to rapidly spread from Hong Kong to other parts of the world.

Superspreader Events of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003 

The environment of SARS included five regions that experienced moderate to severe epidemics: Hong Kong, mainland China (with the initial spread in Guangdong followed by a major outbreak in Beijing), Taiwan, Singapore, and Canada. SARS also spread to several other countries, although those countries had relatively low numbers of reported cases.

Environment of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003 

A previously novel coronavirus, SARS CoV was found to be the agent of SARS. There have been observations that led to speculations that the SARS coronavirus (SARS CoV) originated from a wild animal. Evidence from Guangdong suggests that most cases during the very early stages of the epidemic seem to have occurred in food handlers, those who kill, handle and sell animals and meat, as well as those who prepare and serve food.

Agent of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003 

- Incubation Period
- Infectious Period
- Case Fatality Rates

Transmission Dynamics of the SARS Epidemic, 2002-2003

- The agent of SARS
- The first wave
- The second wave 
- Superspreader events
- Environment of SARS
- Transmission dynamics 

Saint Louis University

- Vaccine Development
- Antibody immune response
- Epidemiology and transmission dynamics 

Focuses of Epidemiological studies on SARS-CoV

- Public Library of Science
- Nature Magazine
- Vaccine
- Cell
- New England Journal of Medicine

Vaccine Development for SARS-CoV References by Journal 

- Immunization with SARS Coronavirus Vaccines Leads to Pulmonary Immunopathology on Challenge with the SARS Virus
- Latin American Scientists Join the Coronavirus Vaccine Race

Articles on SARS-CoV Vaccine Development

A study showed that SARS neutralizing antibodies can successfully block SARS-CoV-2 entry into target cells in vitro, suggesting that the two viruses possess a cross-protective epitope and have similar immune protection against reinfection

SARS neutralizing antibodies and SARS-CoV-2


- PLOS ONE
- THE LANCET
- CDC
- New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)
- Journal of Infectious Diseases
- Journal of Immunology
- JAMA Network
- MedRxiv

Antibody Immune Response for SARS-CoV References by Journal/ Source

- Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
- The Lancet

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