[Avian influenza and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - experiences and perspectives].

New respiratory viruses associated with pneumonia have in the past few years been detected in humans. The sudden appearance of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 demonstrated that an emerging and highly infectious disease caused by a hitherto unknown virus was able to spread rapidly, but could finally be contained by stringent measures. The avian influenza A-H5N1-virus of high pathogenicity has crossed in multiple instances the species barriers between humans, mammals, and birds posing a serious pandemic threat. The application of the so far learnt and the continued development of preventive strategies, efficient vaccines, and antiviral substances are besides worldwide surveillance decisive to rapidly detect the repeated, enforced, or new appearance of viruses like the SARS-CoV, influenza A-H5N1 virus, or of new viruses, to contain their spread, and to defeat them.