[TennesseeProfessor]

SARS is worse that the Flu. Normally, Flu kills at most 1% of the people it infects, and the people severly affected already had weakened immune systems. Plus there is a vaccine that doesn't always work but usually helps. SARS has no vaccine, affects healthy people, and has something approaching 3% fatality. For comparison, the Spanish Flu also has 3% fatality rates and spread even easier than SARS, but the Super-Flu bugs are very rare.

[Justa]

Someone on FR recently pointed out that it takes several weeks to die from SARS so the mortality rate is misleading given the rapid increase of infection. When the deaths were compared to the reported cases at the time of infection the mortality rate was 7-8%.

[CathyRyan]

It is not the dying I fear so much as the hospital bill that is if by the time I get sick there is still hospital space left for the sick.

[SauronOfMordor]

SARS has no vaccine, affects healthy people, and has something approaching 3% fatality.

We don't know the true fatality rate. The only way SARS gets reported is if the person gets sick enough to require medical attention. Of THAT subgroup, something like 3-5% will die. The big unknown, currently, is what percentage of those infected get it mild enough that they don't seek medical attention