SARS
First reported in Asia in 2003, it was the illness that popularized the surgical-mask as street wear. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which is caused by a virus, spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe and Asia before being contained. More than 8,000 people were sickened and 774 died after contracting the disease from droplets released through coughing and sneezing. Symptoms included high fever, headache and body aches, and after about a week many would develop a dry cough and eventually pneumonia — hence the face masks. Because there is no cure for SARS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health organizations focused on educating people about prevention. After nearly six months of panic, the SARS outbreak was contained in July 2003.