# AIDS or Ebola, which is SARS closer to?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 16, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690 "2003-03-16T00:57:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690/1 "2003-03-16T00:57:41Z")

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[A new pneumonia.](http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=514&e=2&cid=514&u=/ap/20030316/ap_on_he_me/asia_pneumonia)  
Medical input?

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**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690/2 "2003-03-16T01:00:05Z")

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[Another Link](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,81179,00.html)

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**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690/3 "2003-03-16T02:44:53Z")

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Since doctors don’t know whether it’s a viral or bacterial disease yet, the question is unanswerable from that standpoint; as both HIV and Marburg/Ebola are viruses, it may have no relationship to either one. Since it’s pneumonia, and not a hemorrhagic fever or a massive immune system breakdown, it’s not remotely like either one.

Why?

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2003, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aids-or-ebola-which-is-sars-closer-to/161690/4 "2003-03-16T02:47:50Z")

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This is being discussed in the GQ thread [Asia Pnumonia - bio-weapon accidentally released?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169838) as well as the MPSIMS thread [Attention- physicians, Biologists, Epidemiologists, Virologists & Others! Alert!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169482) so I’ll close this one and direct further comment to either of the above.

bibliophage  
moderator GQ