Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (simplified Chinese: 严重急性呼吸道综合症; traditional Chinese: 嚴重急性呼吸道綜合症 or simply Chinese: 非典型肺炎) was an atypical pneumonia. It started in November 2002 in Guangdong Province, in the city of Foshan, of the People's Republic of China. The disease was caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS CoV), a new coronavirus. It was also a part-time STD, it can be spread through both sexual and casual contact.