The sequence of events that led to the SARS outbreak in Singapore makes harrowing reading. It can be traced to 3 so-called "super-infectors" - all women - each of whom could have infected 20 other people.

Years ago I read the book Hot Zone by Richard Preston about the outbreak of the Ebola virus in suburban Washington. It was a chilling read, more gripping than any fiction because the events were real. While war is being waged on the Iraqi front, another more deadly war is being fought, by virologists, doctors and scientists, to identify the enemy - the SARS virus - and to find an antidote. The war against virus is one that the human species cannot afford to lose.