简介：Severeacuterespiratorysyndrome(SARS)emergedin2002asasevereandhighlycontagiousinfectiousdiseasethatrapidlyspreadtoanumberofdifferentcountries.Thecollaborativeeffortsoftheglobalscientificcommunityhaveprovided,withinashortperiodoftime,substantialinsightsintothemolecularbiologyandimmunologyofSARS-CoV.Althoughtheoutbreakhasbeencontained,thereiscontinuousconcernthatthevirusmayresurfaceintothehumanpopulationthroughseasonalchanges,animalreservoirsorlaboratoryaccidents.TheseveremorbidityandmortalityassociatedwithSARSmakeitimperativethataneffectivevaccinebedevelopedtopreventreemergenceandepidemicsinthefuture.Cellular&MolecularImmunology.2005;2(2):101-105.