Hong Kong doctor and researcher Yuen Kwok-yung, a coronavirus specialist, is sounding the alarm about the risk of new pandemics, possibly worse than that of Covid-19.
- According to Hong Kong doctor and researcher Yuen Kwok-yung, a new pandemic is inevitable and could cause much more damage than that of Covid-19.
- While rapidly changing climates and emerging infectious diseases should be top priorities, he calls on world leaders to “come to their senses” and acknowledge the “existential threats” facing the world.
- A world-renowned expert, Mr. Yuen became known to the general public in 2003, after he successfully isolated and identified Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, an infectious disease of the lungs caused by a coronavirus.
“The general public and leaders must recognize that a new pandemic will come, and probably sooner than we think.” These are the words used by Hong Kong doctor Yuen Kwok-yung, a leading coronavirus specialist, to warn international leaders of the risk of new pandemics to come.
Emerging infectious diseases must be a top priority
In an interview at Queen Mary Hospital where he works and teaches, relayed by AFP and various mediahe calls on world leaders to “come back to reason” and to take note of the “existential threats” that weigh on the world. According to him, a new pandemic is inevitable and could cause much more damage than that of Covid-19, which has caused nearly seven million deaths according to the World Health Organization.
At a time when politicians are busy with questions “of national or regional interest”Yuen Kwok-yung believes that rapid climate change and emerging infectious diseases should be a top priority. “This is something so important that we should not ignore it”he explains, in essence, in his new autobiography entitled My Life in Medicine: A Hong Kong Journey.
Yuen Kwok-yung warns: New pandemic can be affected by Covid-19 |BNMedia#health #Covid #Corona #Pandemic #Infection #scientificknowledge #Research #Hong Kong https://t.co/0bqkYXQR8n pic.twitter.com/IniUuGcx3Q
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An experience from SARS, a disease caused by a coronavirus
If the researcher makes a “such a scary prediction”that’s because he knows what he’s talking about. A world-renowned expert, Mr. Yuen became known to the general public in 2003, after he and his team successfully isolated and identified Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, an infectious lung disease caused by a coronavirus. This was a crucial step in testing, diagnosing and treating the disease, which emerged in southern China and Hong Kong before spreading around the world.
This experience helped him considerably during the Covid-19 pandemic, which ravaged Hong Kong due to a very low vaccination rate. “We have benefited from the twenty years of studies that followed the SARS epidemic”he says, adding that the preventive measures have been effective in buying time while vaccines are being developed. In total, he has written about 100 studies on Covid-19, earning him a reputation as an expert with the Hong Kong government.
Last year, the doctor established the Alliance for Pandemic Research with his counterparts in mainland China and the United States to share information on future threats. “It is a bad idea to stop or prevent these exchanges, because they protect everyone, he warns. If we don’t talk about it […] and another pandemic occurs, we will again have to pay a heavy price.”
