Yuen Kwok-yung

Yuen Kwok-yung (Chinese: 袁國勇) GBS JP is a Hong Kong microbiologist, physician and surgeon. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (Lond, Edin, Irel, HK), Surgeons (Glas, HK) and Pathologists (UK, HK). After years of clinical and laboratory training, he established the infectious disease service and rapid molecular diagnosis for cytomegalovirus and tuberculosis at the Queen Mary Hospital, the teaching hospital of the University of Hong Kong. His major research interest is microbiology and novel microbes in emerging infectious diseases.

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yuen.
Professor

Yuen Kwok-yung

GBS JP
Born (1956-12-30) 30 December 1956
Hong Kong
Alma materUniversity of Hong Kong
Known forResearch on SARS
Scientific career
FieldsMicrobiology
InstitutionsUniversity of Hong Kong

Career

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.[1] 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.[2][3][4] 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.[5] 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,[6] bat coronavirus HKU2 and others,[7][8][9] bovine and porcine hokovirus (now called Tetraparvovirus)[10] and Laribacter hongkongensis in fish and human.[11][12]

Yuen is currently the Chair of Infectious Disease at the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong. He co-directs the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Disease of China in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of PRC. He was the founding co-director of the Hong Kong University-Pasteur Research Centre. His over 700 publications (with over 15,000 citations) in peer reviewed journals including Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Journal of Virology and PNAS, mainly pertain to novel microbe discovery and agents of emerging infectious diseases.

2019-20 coronavirus

Yuen is involved in the research on SARS-CoV-2.[13] Yuen has been active in communicating with the press on this issue. He was an early advocate of wearing masks even by healthy individuals, citing asymptomatic cases and a large number of virus strands in saliva of an infected person.[14]

Yuen’s information videos on preventing the spread of the virus are published on the website of the University of Hong Kong.[15]

Yuen caused controversy when he and co-author David Lung published an op-ed article titled "The pandemic originated from Wuhan and the lessons from 17 years ago have been forgotten." in the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao, stating that the trading and consumption of wild animals was a result of the inferior culture of Chinese people. The authors later retracted the article and apologised for the statement.[16]

See also
  • Asteroid 41740 Yuenkwokyung
  • List of graduates of University of Hong Kong

References
  1. Yuen, KY; Chan, PKS; Peiris, M; Tsang, DNC; Que, TL; Shortridge, KF; Cheung, PT; To, WK; Ho, ETF; Sung, R; Cheng, AFB (February 1998). "Clinical features and rapid viral diagnosis of human disease associated with avian influenza A H5N1 virus". The Lancet. 351 (9101): 467–471. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(98)01182-9. PMID 9482437. S2CID 24198615.
  2. Peiris, JSM; Lai, ST; Poon, LLM; Guan, Y; Yam, LYC; Lim, W; Nicholls, J; Yee, WKS; Yan, WW; Cheung, MT; Cheng, VCC; Chan, KH; Tsang, DNC; Yung, RWH; Ng, TK; Yuen, KY (April 2003). "Coronavirus as a possible cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome". The Lancet. 361 (9366): 1319–1325. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13077-2. PMC 7112372. PMID 12711465.
  3. "Public Health and Climate Change: Opportunities for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area". Asia Society.
  4. Cheng, Vincent C. C.; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Yuen, Kwok Yung (October 2007). "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus as an Agent of Emerging and Reemerging Infection". Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 20 (4): 660–694. doi:10.1128/CMR.00023-07. PMC 2176051. PMID 17934078.
  5. Lau, Susanna K. P.; Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Li, Kenneth S. M.; Huang, Yi; Tsoi, Hoi-Wah; Wong, Beatrice H. L.; Wong, Samson S. Y.; Leung, Suet-Yi; Chan, Kwok-Hung; Yuen, Kwok-Yung (27 September 2005). "Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-like virus in Chinese horseshoe bats". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 102 (39): 14040–14045. Bibcode:2005PNAS..10214040L. doi:10.1073/pnas.0506735102. PMC 1236580. PMID 16169905.
  6. Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Chu, Chung-ming; Chan, Kwok-hung; Tsoi, Hoi-wah; Huang, Yi; Wong, Beatrice H. L.; Poon, Rosana W. S.; Cai, James J.; Luk, Wei-kwang; Poon, Leo L. M.; Wong, Samson S. Y.; Guan, Yi; Peiris, J. S. Malik; Yuen, Kwok-yung (2005). "Characterization and Complete Genome Sequence of a Novel Coronavirus, Coronavirus HKU1, from Patients with Pneumonia". Journal of Virology. 79 (2): 884–895. doi:10.1128/JVI.79.2.884-895.2005. PMC 538593. PMID 15613317.
  7. Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Lam, Carol S. F.; Lai, Kenneth K. Y.; Huang, Yi; Lee, Paul; Luk, Geraldine S. M.; Dyrting, Kitman C.; Chan, Kwok-Hung; Yuen, Kwok-Yung (2009). "Comparative Analysis of Complete Genome Sequences of Three Avian Coronaviruses Reveals a Novel Group 3c Coronavirus". Journal of Virology. 83 (2): 908–917. doi:10.1128/JVI.01977-08. PMC 2612373. PMID 18971277.
  8. Lau, Susanna K.P.; Woo, Patrick C.Y.; Li, Kenneth S.M.; Huang, Yi; Wang, Ming; Lam, Carol S.F.; Xu, Huifang; Guo, Rongtong; Chan, Kwok-hung; Zheng, Bo-jian; Yuen, Kwok-yung (October 2007). "Complete genome sequence of bat coronavirus HKU2 from Chinese horseshoe bats revealed a much smaller spike gene with a different evolutionary lineage from the rest of the genome". Virology. 367 (2): 428–439. doi:10.1016/j.virol.2007.06.009. PMC 7103351. PMID 17617433.
  9. Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Wang, Ming; Lau, Susanna K. P.; Xu, Huifang; Poon, Rosana W. S.; Guo, Rongtong; Wong, Beatrice H. L.; Gao, Kai; Tsoi, Hoi-wah; Huang, Yi; Li, Kenneth S. M.; Lam, Carol S. F.; Chan, Kwok-hung; Zheng, Bo-jian; Yuen, Kwok-yung (2007). "Comparative Analysis of Twelve Genomes of Three Novel Group 2c and Group 2d Coronaviruses Reveals Unique Group and Subgroup Features". Journal of Virology. 81 (4): 1574–1585. doi:10.1128/JVI.02182-06. PMC 1797546. PMID 17121802.
  10. Lau, Susanna K. P.; Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Tse, Herman; Fu, Clara T. Y.; Au, Wing-Ka; Chen, Xin-Chun; Tsoi, Hoi-Wah; Tsang, Thomas H. F.; Chan, Joanna S. Y.; Tsang, Dominic N. C.; Li, Kenneth S. M.; Tse, Cindy W. S.; Ng, Tak-Keung; Tsang, Owen T. Y.; Zheng, Bo-Jian; Tam, Sidney; Chan, Kwok-Hung; Zhou, Boping; Yuen, Kwok-Yung (1 August 2008). "Identification of novel porcine and bovine parvoviruses closely related to human parvovirus 4". Journal of General Virology. 89 (8): 1840–1848. doi:10.1099/vir.0.2008/000380-0. PMID 18632954.
  11. Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Woo, Patrick C. Y.; Teng, Jade L. L.; Leung, Kit-Wah; Wong, Michelle K. M.; Lau, Susanna K. P. (December 2001). "Laribacter hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a Novel Gram-Negative Bacterium Isolated from a Cirrhotic Patient with Bacteremia and Empyema". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 39 (12): 4227–4232. doi:10.1128/JCM.39.12.4227-4232.2001. PMC 88529. PMID 11724825.
  12. Woo, Patrick CY; Lau, Susanna KP; Teng, Jade LL; Que, Tak-lun; Yung, Raymond WH; Luk, Wei-kwang; Lai, Raymond WM; Hui, Wai-Ting; Wong, Samson SY; Yau, Hon-Hung; Yuen, Kwok-yung (June 2004). "Association of Laribacter hongkongensis in community-acquired gastroenteritis with travel and eating fish: a multicentre case-control study". The Lancet. 363 (9425): 1941–1947. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(04)16407-6. PMID 15194253. S2CID 21982342.
  13. Leung, Kanis (29 January 2020). "Effectiveness of virus drugs 'could be gauged within weeks' with tests to begin". South China Morning Post.
  14. Li, Isabelle; Zuoyan, Zhao (10 March 2020). "Q&A with HK microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung who helped confirm coronavirus' human spread". The Straits Times.
  15. "What preventive measures should I take other than wearing masks and washing hands frequently? (and other Information video's by Yuen)". The University of Hong Kong. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  16. Gary Cheung; Elizabeth Cheung (19 March 2020). "Coronavirus: leading Hong Kong microbiologist retracts op-ed claiming pandemic began in Wuhan". South China Morning Post. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

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