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Smallpox is the only virus that is officially eradicated. That is why only elderly age groups are vaccinated against it. But stocks of the virus are still held by certain governments and this episode goes onto show what might happen if those sources were used as a weapon of mass destruction.

In this epsiode of Virus Empire, we feature the work of researchers like Brazilian Luiz Pereira, American Nathan Wolfe and French Xavier Pourrut in the tropical forests in South America, Asia and Africa as they hunt for the coming killers. These are the still unknown viruses that could very soon jump from animals to humans.

Experts fear that during outbreaks of killer viruses like ebola or the Marburg virus, terrorists could get the germs from the infected persons and then synthetically multiply them - as it was done in Soviet laboratories twenty years ago.
 

At the end of 2002, the epidemic of SARS broke out in Guangdong Province, in South China and within months spread to Kong and thereafter the rest of Asia and the world. Many believe the virus moved to Hong Kong as a result of a Chinese physician, Dr. Liu, infecting 17 hotel guests within a few hours, who then dispersed the lethal virus throughout the world within a few days.

By the time the virus was contained, in July 2003, over 8,000 people had been infected with SARS, with 774 of those dying as a result.

With dramatic reconstructions, this episode of Virus Empire shows how the virus was spread. Using an exciting mix of dramatized sequences, visually appealing reportage elements, interviews with top experts worldwide and breathtaking 3D animations from inside the body, we will unveil the mysteries behind this deadly killer.