SARS outbreak

The following is a timeline of the 2002–04 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

On November 16, 2002, an outbreak of what is believed to be severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), began in the Guangdong province of China, which borders on Hong Kong. The first case of infection was speculated to be a farmer in Foshan County. The People's Republic of China (PRC) notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about this outbreak on February 10, reporting 305 cases (including 105 health-care workers) and 5 deaths; it was later reported that the outbreak in Guangdong had peaked in mid-February, but that appears to be false, as later 806 infections and 34 deaths were reported.

Early in the epidemic, the PRC discouraged its press from reporting on SARS and lagged in reporting the situation to the World Health Organization, delaying the initial report. Initially, it did not provide information for Chinese provinces other than Guangdong, the province where the disease is believed to have originated. For example, a WHO team that travelled to Beijing was not allowed to visit the Guangdong province for several weeks. This resulted in international criticism which seemed to have caused a change in government policy in early April.

On February 21, Liu Jianlun, a 64-year-old Chinese doctor who had treated cases in Guangdong arrived in Hong Kong to attend a wedding. He checked into the Metropole Hotel (the ninth floor – room 911, now renumbered 913). Although he had developed symptoms on February 15, he felt well enough to travel, shop, and sight-see with his brother-in-law. On February 22, he sought urgent care at the Kwong Wah Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He died on March 4. About 80% of the Hong Kong cases have been traced back to this doctor, as the virus is believed to have superspread to other guests on the ninth floor after Dr. Liu became ill on the floor adjacent to room 911.

On February 23, a 47-year-old Chinese-American businessman (Johnny Chen, a Shanghai resident) who had stayed on the 9th floor of the Metropole Hotel (across the hall from the Chinese doctor) travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam. After his arrival, he became ill and was admitted to The French Hospital of Hanoi on February 26. Seven days later, on ventilator support, he was medically evacuated to Hong Kong but by then seven hospital workers who had cared for him had already developed symptoms of SARS. He died on March 13. At least 38 health-care workers in Hanoi were infected with SARS. WHO doctor Carlo Urbani, an infectious diseases specialist based in Hanoi who attended Mr Chen, noticed the outbreak among hospital workers there and first recognized SARS as a new disease. He initially suspected that it was avian influenza (bird flu).

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