Hong Kong coronavirus expert warns of new pandemics

The soft-spoken scientist, sometimes compared to American expert Anthony Fauci, a former public health adviser to American presidents, is calling on world leaders to take stock of the risks.

“The general public and leaders must accept that a new pandemic will come, and probably sooner than we think.” he said in an interview at Queen Mary Hospital in the city where he works and teaches.

“SIf I make such a frightening prediction, it is because, as we can clearly see, geopolitical, economic and climatic changes are very rapid.” he explains to AFP.

Politicians must “come to their senses” and address “global existential threats,” the researcher warns in his new autobiography, “My Life in Medicine: A Hong Kong Journey.”

While world leaders are busy with issues of “national or regional interest,” Mr Yuen said rapidly changing climate and emerging infectious diseases should be a top priority.This is something so important that we should not ignore it.“.

Humble origins

A world-renowned authority on coronaviruses, the man comes from humble origins.

Born in Hong Kong in the late 1950s, he grew up with his parents and three brothers in a cramped apartment. After graduating from medical school in 1981, he worked in the city’s public hospitals, where doctors are paid much less than in the private sector.

It was in 2003 that he became known to the general public, after having succeeded, with his team, in isolating and identifying Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS, an infectious disease of the lungs caused by a coronavirus.

It was a critical step in testing, diagnosing and treating the disease, which originated in southern China and Hong Kong before spreading around the world.

The virus has killed nearly 300 people in the city in two months, a toll second only to that of mainland China.

This experience guided him when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, which ravaged Hong Kong due to a very low vaccination rate, especially among the elderly.

“We have benefited from the 20 years of studies that followed the SARS epidemic” he writes in his book.

Preventive measures have been effective in buying time while waiting for vaccines to be developed”until other factors intervened that could not be stopped or overcome – fear, ignorance, poor communication and misinformation” he notes.

Despite strict lockdowns and lengthy quarantines, Hong Kong has recorded some three million cases of Covid-19 infections, about half its population, and more than 13,800 deaths.

It was an intense period for Mr. Yuen, who rose to prominence as a government expert and authored more than 100 peer-reviewed studies on the virus.

He has also found himself in a difficult position on several occasions, notably when his call to lift restrictions in 2022 was rejected, with city authorities choosing to align the measures with China’s “zero Covid” policy of closing borders and imposing strict quarantines.

The self-described medical “detective” has also been targeted by complaints that put his medical license at risk for describing the seafood market in Wuhan, China, where the first cases of Covid-19 were detected, as a “crime scene.”

“Transparent investigation”

Today, Mr Yuen chooses his words carefully and avoids political topics, but he continues to say that understanding the origins of Covid-19 is essential.

He is “important to conduct an investigation in an open and transparent manner“in order to draw lessons for the prevention of future pandemics.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on China to be more transparent about the origins of the pandemic, but has not drawn definitive conclusions about the source.

Last year, Yuen established the Alliance for Pandemic Research with his counterparts from mainland China and the United States to share information and research on future threats.

“It’s a bad idea to stop or prevent these exchanges because they protect everyone,” he said.If we don’t talk about it (…) and another pandemic occurs, we will have to pay a heavy price again“.

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