What is SARS?

SARS is like a super cold that makes people really sick and can spread from one person to another.

Imagine you're playing with your friend at school, and they start coughing and sneezing a lot. If you touch something they touched or breathe in the air around them, you might catch their illness, that's how SARS spreads!

When someone has SARS, they usually feel very tired, have a high fever, and often can't breathe well. It’s like when you get really sick with the flu, but it feels even worse, kind of like being stuck in a stuffy room on a hot day, and your chest hurts every time you try to take a deep breath.

SARS is caused by a virus, which is tiny little germ that can live inside our bodies. When someone with SARS coughs or sneezes, those germs float in the air, and if another person inhales them, they might get sick too.

Sometimes, people who are really close to someone with SARS, like family members or doctors, can catch it even faster because they’re near the germs all day long.