A new infectious disease challenge: Urbani severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) associated coronavirus.

Most community acquired pneumonia's are bacterial and the hospitalized patient, often elderly, is rapidly rendered pathogen free by broad spectrum antibiotics. It was therefore an unpleasant and unexpected surprise when a cluster of hospital staff and trainee medical students in a Hong Kong hospital became ill with cough, breathlessness and a high temperature. A World Health Organization epidemiologist, C. Urbani, categorized the new clinical syndrome severe acute respiratory syndrome in Vietnam in February 2003 and later died of the virus which is now named after him. There has therefore been substantial virological and scientific investment in this area to monitor birds, pigs and humans for new influenza viruses and two outbreaks with family deaths of influenza H5 (avian type) have been described over the last 3 years as of July 2003.