UN Chronicle | Heartbeat: Dr. Carlo Urbani

Heartbeat: Dr. Carlo Urbani

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Dr. Carlo Urbani, 46, the WHO expert on communicable diseases who first detected and reported the existence of a new infectious disease that was to become known as SARS, contracted the deadly virus while treating patients and died on 29 March in Bangkok, Thailand. He leaves behind a wife, Giuliana Chiorrini, and three children.

WHO Director-General Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland described Dr. Urbani as an outstanding physician, adding that "his life is a reminder of our true work in public health". According to a colleague, he was in the hospital every day, talking to the staff and strengthening infection-control procedures. Dr. Urbani, who was based in Viet Nam and also worked in public health programmes in Cambodia and Laos, identified the outbreak of the new disease in an American businessman who had been admitted to the French hospital in Hanoi on 26 February. Because of this early detection, further SARS cases were isolated and global surveillance was heightened.

While working in Mauritania before joining WHO, Dr. Urbani was the first to document the transmission of Schistoma mansoni, an infection affecting over 200 million people worldwide. In Cambodia, his work led to innovative approaches in the control of Schistosoma mekongi, a parasitic flatworm causing intestinal schistosomiasis, transmitted only on the river Mekong. If left untreated, this disease causes fibrosis of the liver and, eventually, death. He noted rocks on the river that were the natural habitat of tiny snails which act as intermediate hosts of the flatworm. He then developed a questionnaire for children, asking about rocks where they bathed, to identify the schools where they would require regular treatment. This method reduced the need for costly diagnosis; now children in Cambodia receive regular treatment.

Dr. Urbani received his medical degree from the University of Ancona, Italy, and did post-graduate work in malaria and medical parasitology. He was also a president of the Italian branch of Médecins Sans Frontières.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in a message delivered at the memorial service for Dr. Urbani, said: "Had it not been for his recognition that the outbreak of the virus was something out of the ordinary, many more would have fallen victim to SARS" and "for his contribution on the front lines of the fight against disease, he will be remembered as a hero—in the best and truest sense of the word."

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