2003 Hong Kong outbreak

The 2003 Hong Kong outbreak of chronic fatigue syndrome was caused by the SARS pandemic. An additional study of SARS survivors in Toronto, Canada, found a chronic post-SARS syndrome similar to fibromyalgia persisted in many SARS survivors 8 years after the SARS outbreak.

Onset
The SARS-CoV virus caused the SARS pandemic of 2002-2003, beginning in China in late 2002, and spreading to Hong Kong in February 2003, then Taiwan, Canada, and several other countries. The Hong Kong cases were infected at three main sites, the Amoy Gardens housing complex, the Metropole Hotel, and the Prince of Wales Hospital.

Symptoms
The chronic fatigue syndrome outbreak was not identified until Lam et al.'s 2009 follow up of those hospitalized with SARS. Lam et al. found 27.1% of the SARS survivors who had needed to be hospitalized had chronic fatigue syndrome.

Notable studies

 * 2011, Chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, depression and disordered sleep in chronic post-SARS syndrome; a case-controlled study - (Full text)
 * 2009, Mental Morbidities and Chronic Fatigue in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Survivors: Long-term Follow-up - (Full text)