Ten years has passed since we encountered SARS. What has China and the world learnt from it? What is the difference between SARS and bird flu? On April 28th, Shen Zuyao, the president of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) answered these questions in his captivating lecture, entitled SARS and Public Health at the Luojia Forum.

President Shen Zuyao started his lecture humorously: “SARS is very similar to SAR, the abbreviation for special administrative region. That’s why Hong Kong people really don’t like SARS,”triggeringa ripple of laughter among audience.

He then introduced the medical response to SARS in Hong Kong, while showing numerous slidesfrom his experiences fighting the spread of SARS. He added, “SARS spread fast in Hong Kong hospitals and twenty-five percent of the infected people were medical personnel. Almost all the doctors and nurses lived in the hospitals and stayed for no less than three months.”

What can we learn from SARS? Shen Zuyao thought in combatting SARS, international cooperation played a key role in containing the epidemic, especially in data, sample and experience sharing. “We hold a brand new respect for life because of SARS”, he added.

During the question and answer session, one student asked President Shen Zuyao about the difference between bird flu and SARS. Shen Zuyao responded, “bird flu is much more complicated than SARS and more research needs to be done to combat bird flu.”

President Shen Zuyao is an expert in gastroenterology and his study covers gastrointestinal bleeding, helicopter pylori, peptic ulcer, hepatitis and digestive system related cancers. He has won numerous awards for his medical services and his research.