Table 1.
Chronology of events related to SARS pertinent to travel.
| 16 November 2002 | First known case of atypical pneumonia occurs in Foshan City, Guangdong Province, China, but is not identified until much later |
| 21 February 2003 | A 64-year-old medical doctor from Zhongshan University in Guangzhou arrives in Hong Kong and checks into the ninth floor of the Metropole Hotel (room 911) |
| 26 February | A 48-year-old Chinese–American businessman is admitted to the French Hospital in Hanoi with SARS (confirmed later) |
| 28 February | Dr Urbani notifies the WHO office in Manila. WHO headquarters moves into a heightened state of alert |
| 12 March | WHO issues a global alert about cases of severe atypical pneumonia following mounting reports of spread among staff at hospitals in Hong Kong and Hanoi, Singapore and Toronto |
| 15 March | WHO issues a rare travel advisory as evidence mounts that SARS is spreading by air travel along international routes. WHO names the mysterious illness after its symptoms: severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and declares it ‘a worldwide health threat.’ WHO issues its first case definitions of suspect and probable cases of SARS. WHO further calls on all travelers to be aware of the signs and symptoms, and issues advice to airlines |
| 25 March | Nine air passengers linked to a 15 March flight from Hong Kong to Beijing develop SARS after returning to Hong Kong. The flight is eventually linked to cases in 22 passengers and two flight attendants |
| 29 March | WHO infectious disease specialist, Dr Carlo Urbani, the first WHO officer to identify the outbreak of this new disease and treat the earliest cases in Hanoi, dies of SARS in Thailand |
| 16 April | The WHO laboratory network announces conclusive identification of the SARS causative agent: an entirely new coronavirus |
| 28 April | Viet Nam is removed from the list of areas with recent local transmission, making it the first country to successfully contain its outbreak |
| 5 July | Taiwan, the last area with recent local transmission, is removed from the list. WHO declares that SARS outbreaks have been contained worldwide, but calls for continued vigilance |
Adapted from WHO: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_07_04/en/print.html.