Dr Yuen Warns of Another Impending Pandemic

Yuen warns world leaders must fight infectious diseases

We are still going through waves of the Covid-19 virus and Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung warns we will inevitably encounter yet another pandemic that will be even worse, he outlines in his latest autobiography.

"Both the public and [world] leaders must admit that another pandemic will come, and probably sooner than you anticipate," he said in an interview.

Yuen has released an autobiography of his career

"Why I make such a horrifying prediction is because you can see clearly that the geopolitical, economic, and climatic changes are changing so rapidly."

In his autobiography, My Life in Medicine: A Hong Kong Journey, Yuen warns politicians must "come to their senses" and solve "global existential threats".

He says world leaders seem more focused on "national or regional interests", when a rapidly changing climate together with emerging infectious diseases should be a top priority.

"This is something so important that we should not ignore."

Over 20 years ago he and his team isolated and identified severe acute respiratory syndrome known as SARS that started in southern China and spread to Hong Kong and globally. The virus killed nearly 300 people in two months.

So it's not surprising he was on guard when the first reports of a mysterious virus was spreading in Wuhan, China.

Yuen's team tackled SARS in 2003

"We benefited from the 20 years of study that followed the SARS outbreak," he wrote in his book. "Until factors beyond our ability to stop or overcome -- fear, ignorance, poor messaging, and deliberate misinformation -- the measures were effective" in buying Hong Kong time until the vaccines were developed.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, more than 13,800 people died and recorded some 3 million people, almost half the population. 

Yuen still thinks it's important to find out the origins of Covid-19, saying it is "important to properly do an investigation in a very open, transparent manner" so lessons can be learned for future pandemic prevention, he said.

"If we do not talk about it... then another pandemic comes, we have to pay a huge price again."

Don't say we haven't been warned...