Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a SARS-coronavirus While SARS cases were detected as early as November 2002 as part of an outbreak that emerged in China and subsequently spread to 28 other countries, the pathogen causing the disease was identified as a coronavirus at the end of February 2003
COVID-19 epidemiological update – 14 March 2025 In this edition, we include: SARS-CoV-2 test positivity trends at the global and regional levels The COVID-19 morbidity and mortality update at the global and regional levels An update on hospitalizations and ICU admissions An update on the SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest (VOI) and variants under monitoring (VUM)
COVID-19 epidemiological update – 24 December 2024 This is a special edition of the epidemiological update on COVID-19 that gives an overview of the situation since the disease was first reported to WHO nearly five years ago SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, largely circulates without clear seasonality and continues to infect, causing severe acute disease and post-COVID-19 condition
Coronavirus - World Health Organization (WHO) La enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) es una enfermedad infecciosa causada por el virus SARS-CoV-2 La mayoría de las personas infectadas por el virus experimentarán una enfermedad respiratoria de leve a moderada y se recuperarán sin requerir un tratamiento especial Sin embargo, algunas enfermarán gravemente y requerirán atención médica
Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants It remains critical that global systems to detect signals of potential variants of interest (VOIs) or variants of concern (VOCs) and rapidly assess the risk posed by SARS-CoV-2 variants to public health are maintained, and data are shared, according to good principles and in a timely fashion
WHO guidelines for the global surveillance of severe acute respiratory . . . This document sets out revised guidelines for the global surveillance and reporting of SARS as an ongoing strategy for rapidly detecting cases and preventing further national or international spread Addressed to national health authorities, the guidelines respond to the need for a sustainable long-term approach to SARS surveillance that maintains an adequate level of sensitivity yet does not
COVID-19 - Global Situation - World Health Organization (WHO) Since mid-February 2025, according to data available from sentinel sites, global SARS-CoV-2 activity has been increasing, with the test positivity rate reaching 11%, levels that have not been observed since July 2024 This rise is primarily observed in countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific regions Since early 2025, global SARS-CoV-2 variant trends have