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People wear masks to protect themselves against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus April 16, 2003 in Hong Kong. Christian Keenan/Getty Images
People wear masks to protect themselves against the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus April 16, 2003 in Hong Kong. Christian Keenan/Getty Images

The global death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus is at least 805, surpassing the number of fatalities from the deadly 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak.

When SARS swept across the world, it sparked an international panic and infected more than 8,000 people, killing 774.

In comparison, the coronavirus has now infected more than 27,000 people in China’s Hubei province alone — and over 37,000 globally.

Like SARS, this latest outbreak is caused by a coronavirus, a family of viruses common to animals that range from the common cold, to more serious diseases, such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Both the SARS and Wuhan outbreaks started in China — and both are believed to have originated from wild animal markets.

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