February 2003
On February 21, Liu Jianlun, a 64-year-old Chinese doctor who had treated cases in Guangdong arrived in Hong Kong to attend a wedding. He checked into the Metropole Hotel (the ninth floor - room 911). Although he had developed symptoms on February 15, he felt well enough to travel, shop, and sight-see with his brother-in-law. On February 22 he sought urgent care at the Kwong Wah Hospital and was admitted to the intensive care unit. He died on March 4. About 80% of the Hong Kong cases have been traced back to this doctor.
On February 23, a 47-year-old Chinese-American businessman (Johnny Chen, a Shanghai resident) who had stayed on the 9th floor of the Metropole Hotel (across the hall from the Chinese doctor) travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam. After his arrival he became ill and was admitted to The French Hospital of Hanoi on February 26. Seven days later, on ventilator support, he was medically evacuated to Hong Kong but by then 7 hospital workers who had cared for him had already developed symptoms of SARS. He died on March 13. At least 38 health-care workers in Hanoi were infected with SARS.
WHO doctor Carlo Urbani, an infectious diseases specialist based in Hanoi who attended Mr Chen, noticed the outbreak among hospital workers there and first recognized SARS as a new disease. He initially suspected that it was avian influenza (bird flu).
On February 25, the 53-year-old brother-in-law of the Guangdong doctor attended the Kwong Wah Hospital. He was not admitted that day but his illness worsened and he was admitted on March 1. He died on March 19.
On the 25th, a businessman who had travelled in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province returned home to Taipei, the beginning of the outbreak on the island of Taiwan. Also, another person who was at the Metropole returned to Singapore.
Almost all of those infected had been either medical staff or family members of people who had fallen ill. It is believed that all affected medical staff were not using respiratory precautions, a safety protocol that should fully protect medical workers, at the time of exposure. The various cases around the world were directly or indirectly traceable to people who had recently visited Asia.
Read more about this topic: Progress Of The SARS Outbreak