HK's success against sars offers useful lessons

The SARS outbreak of 2003 put Hong Kong on the front line of a global health crisis - and the city's ultimately successful war on the virus offers lessons for those now battling Ebola.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome infected 1,800 people and claimed 299 lives in Hong Kong. Panic spread, emptying usually busy streets and causing the property market to dive.

But swift moves to quarantine at-risk residents brought the outbreak under control. It transformed long-term attitudes about disease and streamlined the city's alert and response systems.