SARS stands for severe acute respiratory syndrome. It's a new disease that doctors still don't know much about.

They are a lot like pneumonia or the flu. People get a very high fever -- at least 100.4 degrees. They also usually have shortness of breath or other problems breathing and a dry cough. Some people get other symptoms, including a headache, stiff or achy muscles, a loss of appetite, fatigue, a rash and diarrhea.

Antibiotics don't seem to work, which is usually the case with virus-caused diseases. One antiviral drug known as ribavirin may help, but doctors aren't sure yet.

Scientists discovered that the disease is caused by a previously unknown microbe known as a coronavirus. Coronaviruses usually just cause the common cold, but can cause serious respiratory illnesses in animals.

SARS is caused by a previously unrecognized coronavirus, called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It is possible that other infectious agents might have a role in some cases of SARS.

The primary way that SARS appears to spread is by close person-to-person contact. SARS-CoV is thought to be transmitted most readily by respiratory droplets (droplet spread) produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Droplet spread can happen when droplets from the cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled a short distance (generally up to 3 feet) through the air and deposited on the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, or eyes of persons who are nearby.

The disease is believed to have first emerged in Guangdong province in China in November and then spread to Hong Kong and elsewhere.

No "test" is available yet for SARS; however, the CDC, in collaboration with WHO and other laboratories, has developed two research tests that appear to be very promising in detecting antibodies to the new coronavirus. CDC is working to refine and share this testing capability as soon as possible with laboratories across the United States and internationally.

By July 2003 China was declared free of the SARS virus by the World Health Organization and US Centers for Disease Control. Hunan Province was not one of the areas affected by SARS. Public health specialists caution that there is a chance the virus may reappear in the winter months. The virus is now better-understood and vigilant prevention efforts should allow it to be contained.