The SARS epidemic, between November 2002 and July 2003, resulted in about 8,000 infections. Nearly eight hundred people died. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome spread over more than thirty countries, including Europe. Outside of China, Hong Kong, Canada, Taiwan and Singapore were hardest hit. In China, almost all provinces were affected. The Netherlands remained free from SARS. Guangdong Province (Canton) was the heart of this pandemic in 2002. Breeding, trading and eating of civets has been banned in Guangdong since January 2004. The Guangdong government has been checking for years whether pet markets or restaurants have civets, in cages or in the freezer. However, recent inspections have shown that civet cats are still traded by restaurants in the Guandong Province and also Hubei Province (Wuhan), as revealed in December 2019.
Coronaviruses and pneumonia The SARS virus that emerged in China in 2003 and spread through the civet, the MERS virus came from dromedaries and has been active since 2012, and the SARS coronavirus II that now caused a pandemic as COVID 19 are three new viruses of this century that have dangerous pneumonia and give death.
