[nopardons]

Three and a smidgen over; however, most of those are " surmized " and NO deaths at all. Very unlike the ASIAN and HONG HONG flus of the past; not to mention the SPANISH INFLUENZA of 1918.

[AntiGuv]

It's worth noting that the Spanish Influenza killed only some 2% of people who contracted it, but that it's high absolute mortality figure resulted because it spread so rapidly and effectively. If SARS indeed has a mortality rate of four to eight times higher than Spanish influenza, then it could easily kill four to five times as many people with an infection rate one quarter that of Spanish influenza. The greater number of deaths results, of course, from the worldwide demographic growth since 1918.

That's 100 million people.

Having said that, there's so much yet unresolved or unclear about this disease that I'm just in wait & see mode, myself.

[sakic]

SARS reminds me a great deal of the influenza outbreak of 1918.