SARS

Health & Safety

My meeting with Jiang Yanyong, the Chinese doctor who dared speak the truth about SARS

1:34pm March 18, 2023

by Susan Jakes

In 2003, the military surgeon watched in disbelief as Chinese officials downplayed how SARS was spreading — and took the risk of alerting the media to the cover-up. He died this past week at age 91.

A raccoon dog looks out of its cage in a Chinese live animal market in January 2004. Raccoon dogs could have been an initial host for the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic.

World News

Raccoon dogs may have been linked to the pandemic. What are they?

11:40am March 18, 2023

by Kaitlyn Radde

The wild animals are more similar to foxes than to domesticated dogs. Data that suggested a link between raccoon dogs and the origins of the COVID pandemic was removed from an international database.

Military surgeon Jiang Yanyong is seen in a hotel room in Beijing on Feb. 9, 2004. Jiang Yanyong, a Chinese military doctor who revealed the full extent of the 2003 SARS outbreak and was later placed under house arrest for his political outspokenness, has died, a long-time acquaintance and a Hong Kong newspaper said on March 14, 2023.

Jiang Yanyong, the doctor who exposed the size of the 2003 SARS outbreak, dies at 91

11:39pm March 15, 2023

by The Associated Press

Jiang Yanyong was a Chinese military doctor who revealed the full extent of the 2003 SARS outbreak and was later placed under house arrest for his political outspokenness.

A table showing documented cases of possible spillovers of dog coronavirus, pig coronavirus and MERS by year, animal and country.

How do pandemics begin? There's a new theory — and a new strategy to thwart them

5:00am February 15, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Animals carry millions of pathogens. So it's a daunting task to find the one with the greatest potential to spark a pandemic. Now scientists are rethinking the way they hunt for that next new virus.

An electron microscope image shows a SARS-CoV-2 particle isolated in the early days of the pandemic. It's been nearly a year since omicron was first detected, and scientists say this branch of the coronavirus family tree is still thriving.

Omicron keeps finding new evolutionary tricks to outsmart our immunity

5:02am October 25, 2022

by Rob Stein

SARS-CoV-2 is evolving "rapidly," spawning one new variant after another. But omicron continues to dominate, raising new questions about how evolution of the virus is headed.

President Biden directed the intelligence agencies to look for evidence of an accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (pictured). Many scientists still think its more likely the virus came form the wild.

Health & Safety

Many Scientists Still Think The Coronavirus Came From Nature

5:09pm May 28, 2021

by Geoff Brumfiel

President Biden told U.S. intelligence agencies to investigate whether the coronavirus spread after a lab leak in China. Scientists welcome the request, but many still think it came from the wild.

Queue Listen Now

Nothing Like SARS: Researchers Warn The Coronavirus Will Not Fade Away Anytime Soon

4:13pm June 11, 2020

by Pien Huang

There was early hope that the coronavirus could be contained and eliminated. But researchers now believe the virus is likely to be a continuing threat until a vaccine is developed.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

A Face Mask Culture Shift Is Happening — Is Everyone On Board?

7:51am May 06, 2020

by David Ford

State and local health officials in North Carolina continue to recommend the use of face coverings in public spaces to contain COVID-19.

Queue Listen Now

A recovered coronavirus patient takes a selfie before being discharged from a hospital in Sri Lanka. Researchers are trying to determine if having a case of COVID-19 will give you immunity.

Do You Get Immunity After Recovering From A Case Of Coronavirus?

6:25pm March 20, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The hope is that a person who's recovered from COVID-19 would have some protection against re-infection in the future. Here's what researchers do — and don't — know.

School was suspended for six weeks in Hong Kong as part of the strategy to keep SARS from spreading. On May 12, 2003, primary school children returned to class amid signs that the outbreak was coming under control.

Health & Safety

How Hong Kong Beat SARS: Lessons Learned

5:42pm February 04, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

As Hong Kong deals with the new coronavirus, citizens and scientists recall the SARS outbreak 17 years ago — and what it took to defeat the disease.