Dr. Zhong Nanshan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is one of the most respected SARS crusaders among Guangdong citizens and did much in the cause of SARS prevention and anti-SARS work.
On June 10, Dr. Zhong was interviewed by the Yangcheng Evening News, despite a hoarse voice and tiredness.
Reporter: There once was a debate on the relationship between SARS and Chlamydia particles, concerning prescriptions and medicine selection. Did the Guangdong Department of Public Health take the opinions of local specialists?
Dr. Zhong: I express my special thanks for the support of the Guangdong Department of Public Health, as they endorsed the opinions of local clinic experts, and showed much respect to them as well as to truth and science while under great administrative pressure, and their quick decisions did help us a lot. After the new diagnosis standard was released by the Ministry of Health in May, confirmed cases and suspected cases started to surge immediately. However, experts from our province were convinced that the standard was flawed, diagnosing many conventional pneumonia patients as SARS ones. The department approved the experts' ideas and informed the Health Ministry.
Reporter: Do you believe the SARS virus is from a civet cat?
Dr. Zhong: We found the coronavirus in wild animals like the civet cat, wild pig, bats and snakes. The discovery is a great progress. But it is still a long way to go before identifying the real origin of the SARS virus. Personally, I believe, instead of a diet culture, cooking wild animals as food is a bad habit of the Cantonese.
Reporter: Yang Huangming, a leading Chinese scientist from the Human Genome Project, said publicly that "Chinese scientists were defeated by SARS". He believed that the failure of being the first to declare the genome sequence of the coronavirus was due to the control of patients' samples by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Insiders say that from the discovery of the pathogen of SARS to the testing and diagnosis of the virus, and to the theory of its elaboration, China has achieved no first. What's your opinion?
Dr. Zhong: I agree completely. The testing of the genome sequence of pathogens was not too complicated for us. But the hands of our scientist were tied, testers had no samples, those who had samples couldn't test them and sealed them as well as the information. This was a tragedy.
Reporter: I heard that you have published a SARS-related essay in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Zhong: This can be viewed as a regret for Chinese scientists. Many SARS clinical experiences originated with Guangdong doctors and were taught to Beijing and Hong Kong doctors. However it was someone else that published the essays in advance. In this case, we shall follow our Hong Kong counterparts who published their experience in The New England Journal of Medicine only after treating ten SARS cases. At the international SARS symposium held in Seattle, I handed in a draft to the committee, surprisingly, I got a reply in 24 hours, telling me that my draft was approved by all the five members of the committee unanimously and would be published on June 1. From this experience, we learned that we should respond more quickly, otherwise others will summarize our experiences ahead of us.
Reporter: In terms of this international SARS symposium, what kind of attitude did foreign scholars and local media have towards China's efforts on SARS control？
Dr. Zhong: We prepared well for any possible challenging questions that might be asked, but surprisingly, both foreign experts and the media expressed their respect and sympathy to us. They did not believe SARS was exclusive to China, neither exported from Southeast Asia. Any debate concerning SARS was welcomed. The one-thousand-seat meeting place was overwhelmed by two thousand participators; some had to sit on the ground. Temporarily, the meeting was broadcast as a live show via two TV cables.
Reporter: You were just awarded as a "special contributor" to the SARS campaign on June 19, in a commending rally held by the Guangdong government. Can you tell us your future plans?
Dr. Zhong: Nobody can tell whether there is going to be another large scale SARS outbreak this winter and next spring. So we have to develop emergency vaccines as soon as possible, and the origin of the disease is also under intensive study. Besides that, we have observed 85 recovered SARS patients in two months, their contactors having not been infected. Primarily, we concluded that convalescence is not contagious, but relative research is continuing.
Reporter: Your father, Professor Zhong Shifan, was one of the "ten distinguished Professors" at Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences. What kind of effect did he have on you in terms of your career?
Dr. Zhong: My father died of bronchiectasis and pulmonary heart disease. He might have lived longer if we have had Non-invasive Mask Ventilation(NIV) at that time. He was addicted to his study. In 1950s, he researched encephalitis B, as a result, our home was full of the smell of white mice he raised. In the 1970s, he spent years writing Pediatrics Differential Diagnosis, having ambiopia at that time, he finished it with one eye. What impressed me most in research work is that my father never exaggerated anything, he spoke of the facts and his experiments.
Reporter: Can you talk about your children?
Dr. Zhong: My son is a urinary surgery doctor, who was awarded one of the "Ten Distinguished Youth in Guangzhou City"; my daughter is studying accounting in the US and is planning to work in China in August. My daughter-in-law and grandson are both abroad, but my son and daughter believe China is better for their careers for her bright future.
(China.org.cn translated by Li Liangdu, June 15, 2003)
