Carlo Urbani
Encyclopedia
Carlo Urbani is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
October 19, 1956 – Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
March 29, 2003) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and the first to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus . Between November 2002 and July 2003 an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, with 8,422 cases and 916 deaths worldwide according to the WHO...
(SARS) as a new and dangerously contagious disease. His early warning to the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) touched off a massive response that probably helped save the lives of millions of people around the world, but he became infected and died.
In 2003, Urbani was called in to The French Hospital of Hanoi
L'Hôpital Français De Hanoï
The Hôpital Français de Hanoi , known in Vietnam under the name Bệnh viện Việt Pháp, formerly the Viet Nam International Hospital, is a privatised hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam, sold to a French company in September 2000. It is located at 1 Phuong Mai, Dong Da, Hanoi...
to look at patient Johnny Chen, an American businessman who had fallen ill with what doctors thought was a bad case of influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
. Urbani realized that Chen did not have flu, but probably a new and highly contagious disease. He immediately notified the WHO, triggering the most effective response to a major epidemic in history. He also persuaded the Vietnamese Health Ministry to begin isolating patients and screening travelers, thus slowing the early pace of the epidemic.
Due to the work he did in Hanoi treating SARS infected patients, Dr. Urbani became infected with the virus himself.
On March 11, as he flew from Hanoi to a conference in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
where he was to talk on the subject of childhood parasites, Urbani started feeling feverish on the plane.
A colleague who met him at the airport called an ambulance. They sat in chairs eight feet apart until an ambulance arrived 90 minutes later, because its attendants stopped for protective gear first.
His Bangkok hospital room had been jury-rigged as an isolation ward, so his wife could only talk to him by intercom. Ms. Chiorrini saw him conscious just once. As his lungs weakened he was put on a respirator.
In a conscious moment, Dr. Urbani asked for a priest to give him the last rites, and according to the Italian Embassy in Bangkok, said he wanted his lung tissue saved for science.
After 18 days of intensive care, Carlo Urbani died on 29 March 2003 at 11:45 AM.
Urbani received his medical degree
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the University of Ancona and worked for a time as a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
, before starting a career in infectious diseases. He was a past president of the Italian chapter of Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
and was one of the individuals who accepted the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
on behalf of that organization. He was employed by the World Health Organization and based in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, where he mainly worked on combatting parasitic disease
Parasitic disease
A parasitic disease is an infectious disease caused or transmitted by a parasite. Many parasites do not cause diseases. Parasitic diseases can affect practically all living organisms, including plants and mammals...
s, but was generally expert on infectious diseases. He was married and had three children.
Urbani had an argument with his wife, Giuliani Chiorrini, who said it wasn't responsible for the father of three children ages 4 to 17 to risk his life treating such sick patients.
Urbani replied, "If I can't work in such situations, what am I here for? Answering e-mails, going to cocktail parties and pushing paper?"
External links
- Donald G. McNeil Jr.: Disease's Pioneer Is Mourned as a Victim, The New York Times, April 8, 2003
- Urbani International
- Associazione Italiana Carlo Urbani
- Lucia Bellaspiga: Carlo Urbani. Il primo medico contro la SARS, 2004