COVID 19 special edition
In this special Croucher newsletter, we have investigated Hong Kong’s contribution, talked to some of the leading virologists, microbiologists and epidemiologists, sought expert opinion on the implications for mental health, and public health education, and compiled a round-up of COVID-19 research outputs from different universities in the city.
Message from the Chairman
The world is battling on all fronts in the war against COVID-19, the disease resulting from the novel SAR-CoV-2 coronavirus that has brought such a devastating start to the 2020s.
Hong Kong has been at the forefront of this global race to control the pandemic, with its critical mass of scientists focused on emerging infectious diseases and lessons learned from the SARS outbreak that so severely impacted the city in 2003. This has put it in a unique position to deliver impactful research, clinical and public health strategies, and relevant technology advances. Indeed, Google Scholar reveals as many as 1,640 articles related to COVID-19 that include a Hong Kong author published in the first 100 days since Chinese officials alerted the World Health Organisation to the novel coronavirus.
In this special Croucher newsletter, we have investigated Hong Kong’s contribution, talked to some of the leading virologists, microbiologists and epidemiologists, sought expert opinion on the implications for mental health, and public health education, and compiled a round-up of COVID-19 research outputs from different universities in the city.
“We learn from history that we do not learn from history.”
Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Professor Tak Wah Mak, F.R.S.C., F.R.S.
Chairman, Croucher Foundation
The epidemiologists’ quest: tracking and halting transmission of COVID-19
University of Hong Kong epidemiologists Professors Gabriel Leung and Ben Cowling discuss their leading research contributions to local, national, and global public health policy and the world’s “new normal” of pandemic containment and mitigation
Infectious disease control: the battle to beat coronaviruses
For Professor Joseph J Y Sung, it was very much a case of deja vu. After 17 years, a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus (SARS-CoV) has returned as SARS-CoV-2, bringing back memories of when the Prince of Wales Hospital in Shatin was the epicentre of the first SARS outbreak that shut down Hong Kong for three months.
The virus hunters: leading the way in testing and diagnostics
Testing and diagnosis are at the heart of the work that Professor Malik Peiris (Croucher Senior Medical Research Fellowship 2005), Chair of Virology at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU), School of Public Health and his team undertake, and he works closely with Professor Leo Lit Man Poon (Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2017), head of the Division of Public Health Laboratory Sciences, who leads on diagnostic research.
Identifying the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2: an interview with Leo Poon
Professor Leo Poon Lit-man (Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2017), the molecular virologist who discovered the first Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) viral sequence, was among the first to identify that the COVID-19 coronavirus is far more contagious from the moment of infection than SARS, potentially making it more difficult to eliminate in humans.
Clinical management: lessons from SARS
Hong Kong government medical adviser and respiratory disease expert Dr David Shu Cheong Hui describes the city’s approach to clinical management of COVID-19 and how it has learnt from past experience with SARS.
Psychological stress: coping with the pandemic and quarantine
Top behavioural neuroscientist Professor Nick Rawlins has a warning for us all: spending hours and hours online to glean information about the coronavirus pandemic is potentially harmful to mental health.
Search for a vaccine: SARS vs SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses
As the outbreak of COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, continues to spread globally, the race to produce an effective vaccine is underway. One of the many researchers making important contributions to the effort is Dr Nicholas Wu (Croucher Fellowship 2015) at The Scripps Research Institute in California, though he insisted the race was against the virus, not other scientists. Indeed, given the considerable pressure, he and his colleagues have been working long hours since switching all his research efforts to COVID-19 in early January 2020.
Combatting COVID-19: a round-up of how Hong Kong’s universities are making a difference
Research-based contributions* to understanding and mitigation of different impacts of the pandemic locally and globally from across Hong Kong’s publicly funded universities.