Most cases are not life-threatening, which is also what makes the virus a historic challenge to contain. Updated at 7:43 p.m. on Feb. 25, 2020. In May 1997, a 3-year-old boy developed what at first seemed like the common cold. When his symptoms—sore throat, fever, and cough—persisted for six days, he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Hong Kong. There his cough worsened, and he began gas