Case Study

2003, SARS Spread Facilitated by Global Travel

More than 4,000 SARS cases (half the total global count) can be traced to a chance encounter with the virus by a handful of international travelers staying at a four-star Hong Kong hotel; one of the guests on the ninth floor was a doctor who had become infected while treating patients in Guangdong Province, where the outbreak first emerged.

Reference

Nakashima E. SARS signals missed in Hong Kong; physician's visit may have led to most known cases. Washington Post May 20, 2003: A01.