I wish the ignorant reporters who write these articles would try to learn something about the subject first.
For instance, SARS is NOT flu, nor is "flu-like" the proper comparison.
The best comparison is to severe pneumonia. Hence the name SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
Are you an MD?
One rumor spreading around says the Chicoms were digging up corpses of victims of the 1917 flu pandemic, which killed 20 million people. In order to obtain samples of the virus (for use as a bioweapon?). And maybe it got away from them.
Just a rumor.
--Boris