Osler, Sidney - Coronavirus Outbreak_ All the Secrets Revealed About the Covid-19 Pandemic. A Complete Rational Guide of its Evolution, Expansion, Symptoms and First Defense. (2020)

severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spread across the
country, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing 774.
But whilst a similar virus triggers the Wuhan corona virus and
SARS, they are not exactly the same. Here’s how the two line
themselves up. The number of confirmed Wuhan corona virus
cases has outpaced the 2003 SARS outbreak within mainland
China, as several countries evacuated their people from the
region at the center of the outbreak. According to Chinese
officials, there have been 6,061 confirmed cases of the virus in
mainland China, including 132 deaths. As of Tuesday, the
number of cases rose by about 1,500, an increase of more than
30 percent. The numbers do not include Hong Kong and
Macau, both of which had a small number of cases registered.
There were at least 91 reported cases of the virus outside
mainland China, too.
Nevertheless, there were 5,327 confirmed disease cases in
mainland China during the 2003 SARS outbreak, with 349
deaths. Previously, experts suggested that the Wuhan virus
statistics could still be widely underreported, rendering the
novel corona virus much more infectious, but also less lethal,
than SARS.
Chinese authorities have also confirmed a suspected case of
the Wuhan virus in Tibet, which was previously the only place
to prevent the virus. If confirmed, the spread to Tibet despite
strict traveler checks and the closure of tourist sites will renew
concerns about how easily the virus can be transmitted,
especially when people are asymptomatic.
Origin
Both the outbreaks of SARS and Wuhan started in China—
and both are thought to have originated from the wild animal
markets. In China, scientists compared the Wuhan corona
virus genetic code to other corona viruses and found it to be
most similar to two samples of bat corona virus. The animal
species that caused it to spread to humans have not yet been
verified by experts but they have some guesses. Scientists
believe that the corona virus causing SARS emerged from a
reservoir in bats, which then spread to the civet cat, a wild