Severe acute respiratory syndrome, also called SARS, is caused by a group of viruses responsible for many causes of the "common cold." It is assumed that the source of transmission of the disease is civet cats, feline-looking mammals. The SARS epidemic initially began in China's Guangdong province in November 2002. From November 2002 to June 2003, 8,098 people contracted the virus and 774 died from this terrible disease. However, since then, there have been very few detected cases of SARS. These people who were recently exposed to this disease probably contracted the virus in laboratories or from direct contact with civet cats. Fortunately, the epidemic has been contained and there have been no further cases of this virus. The epidemic began in Guangdong, China, because these deadly civet cats were a delicacy in this province. This SARS virus, similar to that of horseshoe bats, has been questioned as a possibility that these creatures were the ones transmitting the virus to civet cats. Although China was aware of this epidemic, the Chinese government did not inform the World Health Organization until early 2003. As a result, in 2004, the extermination of captive civets was imposed in this Chinese province and the ban on the sale of these civets. Although many of these cases have been reported in 30 different countries, China has recorded 90% of these cases. European countries have had less than 1% of these cases, which shows how significant this influence has been in Southeast Asia. SARS is an animal virus, originating from wild or domestic animals used for the food supply. This virus belongs to the coronavirus family. T... middle of the paper... patients. Not only does this disease cause minor complications, but many of these small problems mostly lead to larger problems. Because these patients have difficulty breathing, these SARS patients develop pneumonia. The most common deaths among people with SARS are due to respiratory failure, and this can also cause liver and heart failure. Many of these patients require mechanical respirators to breathe and live. These viruses damage host cells by rupturing inside the patient's body, causing enough pressure to endanger patients. This infection causes sensitivity to the host. They produce excessive amounts of mucus, which can result in too little oxygen in the host's blood. As a result, the inability to produce oxygen in the blood places excessive pressure on the lungs and the host suffers tremendously from respiratory failure..