How China’s Mystery Pneumonia Illness is Different From SARS

An outbreak of pneumonia in central China is causing alarm. The reason? Doctors have ruled out all known causes of respiratory diseases, meaning the pathogen is a mystery. One potential clue: Some of the patients worked at a seafood market where birds, snakes, and organs of rabbits and other game were also reportedly sold. That’s heightened concern that the disease might have come from animals — reminiscent of the novel virus that sparked an epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SAR