Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome History . Read about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a highly contagious, serious and potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia. Members of the Coronaviridae are known to cause. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Slide Share ... (Lucinda Montgomery) Chronic alcohol abuse is associated with an increased incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome and severity of multiple organ dysfunction in patients with septic shock. Note: The above text is excerpted from the Wikipedia article "Severe acute respiratory syndrome", which has been released under the GNU Free Documentation License. Acute lung injury and the acute respiratory distress syndrome: four decades of inquiry into pathogenesis and rational management. Many global outbreaks of infectious illnesses (pandemics) that have happened in recent history are thought to have been caused by viruses previously only found in. The illness spread to ...