The SARS epidemic in Hong Kong

he unprecedented epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) struck Hong Kong in March to May 2003. From 11 March to 20 May 2003, a total of 1718 SARS cases had been identified (fig 1). 1 During the same period, 253 people had died of the disease. The average death rate was estimated to be about 15%. Before the occurrence of the disease in Hong Kong, an intense outbreak of the disease with acute respiratory syndrome later termed as atypical pneumonia was reported in the nearby Guangdong Province in mainland China. The outbreak in Guangdong was centred in the provincial capital of Guangzhou and its nearby Pearl River Delta area. The outbreak started in November 2002 and reached its peak in March 2003.