In Colorado, several men fall ill and die within a matter of hours. Tests reveal that the devastating illness is meningococcal disease, a bacterial infection with a high mortality rate. The horrific disease kills several healthy and athletic people, but is ultimately contained after the state health department offers mass vaccinations. Also in the program, an elderly Chinese woman is admitted to the emergency room with pneumonia-like symptoms. She becomes the first case of SARS in the United States. SARS is a deadly respiratory virus originating in China. After spreading across the globe, SARS disappears as quickly as it arrived.