Caused by a previously unrecorded coronavirus, SARS emerged in the southern China province of Guangdong in 2002. macroti s bats from Hubei had SARS coronavirus antibodies in their blood,' says a research team member from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Dr Hume Field. This variation suggest it's highly likely that the 2002/3 SARS outbreak originated from bats,' Dr Wang says.