Yuen Kwok-yung

Biography

Yuen graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong in 1981 with distinction in Medicine. Initially trained as a surgeon, he switched successfully to a physician and, subsequently, a clinical microbiologist. In the outbreak of avian influenza virus H5N1 in 1997 in Hong Kong, Yuen was the first to report in Lancet about the unusual clinical severity and high mortality of infected patients, which could be identified by the in-house molecular test at his laboratory. During the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, he led his team in the discovery of the SARS coronavirus, being honoured as “Asian heroes of the year” in April by Time Asia magazine. Subsequently, he found the natural reservoir of SARS coronavirus like virus in Chinese horseshoe bat and renewed the interest of bats as the source of novel microbes causing emerging infectious diseases. His research laboratory has also identified over 40 new viruses, 9 bacteria, 2 fungi and 2 parasites of which some are suspected or confirmed pathogens: coronavirus HKU1, bat coronavirus HKU2 and others, bovine and porcine hokovirus (now called Tetraparvovirus) and Laribacter hongkongensis in fish and human..

Yuen’s information videos on preventing the spread of the virus are published on the website of the University of Hong Kong.