China banned the cooking and selling of civet cats to prevent a return of the SARS virus. The announcement came as winter approaches in southern China, the suspected source of the original outbreak in 2003. In October, Chinese health experts concluded that civets, considered a delicacy in southern China, were the primary source of the epidemic. The first outbreak of SARS in 2003 killed 800 people around the world. A brief resurgence of the virus earlier this year infected nine people in Beijing and Anhui province, killing one.
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