‘Another Pandemic Is Inevitable And Could Cause More Damage Than COVID-19’: Hong Kong Microbiologist

New Delhi: Is another pandemic knocking on the door to harm mankind after the COVID-19 virus? Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok Yung has warned that another pandemic could cause more damage than COVID-19 and is inevitable. Yung, who helped isolate and identify the SARS virus, stated that he believes that rapidly changing geopolitical, economic, and climatic conditions, coupled with emerging infectious diseases, should be a top priority for world leaders.

Calling the world leaders to pay attention to this global challenge, the Hong Kong microbiologist said that the world leaders must solve these "global existential threats”. "Both the public and (world) leaders must admit that another pandemic will come, and probably sooner than you anticipate," news agency AFP quoted Yuen.

Politicians Must Come To Their Senses And Solve Global Existential Threats: Yuen

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

He also has issued a warning in his autobiography "My Life in Medicine: A Hong Kong Journey" emphasizing that the politicians must "come to their senses and solve global existential threats."

Yuen, who was born in the late 1950s, grew up in a small subdivided flat in Hong Kong. After graduating from medical school in 1981, he worked in the city's public hospitals, where he gained recognition for his work on the SARS outbreak in 2003. His experience with SARS informed his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, which infected about half of Hong Kong's population and caused more than 13,800 deaths.

During the pandemic, Yuen became a familiar face as the government's go-to expert and authored numerous peer-reviewed studies on the virus. However, he faced challenges when his call to lift restrictions in 2022 was rejected, and he faced complaints for describing the Wuhan seafood market as a "crime scene."

Yuen is now more cautious when speaking and avoids political topics, but he still believes that understanding the source of COVID-19 is crucial.

He said that conducting an investigation "in a very open, transparent manner" is vital to gaining insights for preventing future pandemics.