From SARS to influenza pandemics, what have we learnt?

Abstract

The SARS epidemic in 2003 infected more than 8000 patients, resulting in 774 deaths in 37 countries. During the epidemic, Hong Kong was severely affected both socially and economically. Nevertheless, health care workers in Hong Kong stood firm and took a leading role in both the treatment and research in SARS. Scientists from the HKU was the first team to identify coronavirus to be the cause of SARS and to describe the clinical and virological presentation. The team also identified the horseshoe bats in Hong Kong and the southern part of China to be the origin. Similarly, influenza poses a heavy burden to both global and local health services. The WHO estimates half a million death worldwide annually is secondary to influenza infection and its complication. Elderly subjects, young children and patients with chronic illness are at high risk in acquiring severe influenza infection. We also face new threats of the antigenically drifted H1N1 and H3N2 infection and the avian influenza virus including the H5N1 and H7N9. In this talk, I will share with you my experience in clinical research, from the bench-to-bedside, and from SARS to influenza pandemics.