Accurate Clinical Prediction of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: Are We There Yet?

and health care systems globally. It is not possible to pre-dict whether a large SARS outbreak will recur, but several potential sources of a resurgence exist. The SARS-associated coronavirus is believed to be of zoonotic origin (2), and while its natural reservoir or res-ervoirs are unknown, several exotic species (for example, civet cats and raccoon dogs) sold for consumption in southern China have shown evidence of infection (3). Thus, these reservoirs could serve as sources for human exposure to the virus. In December 2003 and January 2004, almost 6 months after the end of the global SARS outbreak, 4 unlinked cases of SARS were reported in Guangdong, the province in China where SARS first emerged (4). The source of infection for these cases was not conclusively determined, but 1 patient worked in