Carlo Urbani facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Carlo Urbani
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| Born | 19 October 1956 Castelplanio, Italy
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| Died | 29 March 2003 (aged 46) Bangkok, Thailand
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| Cause of death | SARS |
| Education | University of Ancona |
| Known for | Identifying SARS |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician |
| Institutions | Médecins Sans Frontières World Health Organization |
| Research | Infectious diseases, parasitic diseases |
Carlo Urbani (19 October 1956 – 29 March 2003) was an Italian doctor and a specialist in tiny living things (a microbiologist). He was the first person to realize that severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was a new and very dangerous sickness that could spread easily.
His quick warning to the World Health Organization (WHO) helped the world react fast. This quick action is believed to have saved many lives. Sadly, soon after, he himself caught the disease and died.
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Carlo Urbani's Medical Journey
Carlo Urbani earned his medical degree in 1981 from the University of Ancona in Italy. He then became a specialist in diseases that spread easily and those found in tropical places. He also studied parasites, which are tiny organisms that live on or in other living things.
Helping People in Need
From a young age, Urbani volunteered to help people with diseases in Africa. He joined an Italian Catholic group called Mani Tese. In 1987, he spent a month helping in Ethiopia. By 1989, he was a main helper in the infectious diseases department in Macerata, Italy.
After years of working with diseases that spread quickly (epidemics), he became a helper for the World Health Organization in 1993.
Working with Doctors Without Borders
In 1996, Carlo Urbani joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a group that provides medical help around the world. He moved with his family to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, for a year. When he returned to Italy, he became the head of the Italian part of MSF.
He also helped start a campaign against big drug companies. This campaign wanted to lower the prices of important medicines for diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. In 1999, he was part of the group that accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for MSF. Urbani used the prize money to create a fund. This fund helped make sure that the poorest people in the world could get the medicines they needed.
Discovering the SARS Outbreak
In February 2003, Carlo Urbani was back in Asia. He was called to a hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. A patient, Johnny Chen, was very sick with what doctors thought was a bad flu. Urbani quickly realized that Chen's illness was likely a new and very contagious disease.
He immediately told the WHO about it. This warning started a quick global response to the disease. Measures like keeping sick people separate (isolation) and stopping people from traveling (quarantine) helped end the outbreak in about five months. Urbani also convinced the Vietnamese Health Ministry to start isolating patients and checking travelers. This slowed down how fast the disease spread at the beginning.
Carlo Urbani Contracts SARS
On March 11, 2003, Urbani was flying from Hanoi to a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand. He was going to talk about parasites that affect children. On the plane, he started to feel sick with a fever. A friend who met him at the airport called an ambulance.
Carlo Urbani had caught SARS while caring for sick patients in Hanoi. His hospital room in Bangkok became a special room for keeping him separate. He talked to others using an intercom. As his lungs got weaker, he needed a machine to help him breathe. During a moment when he was awake, Urbani asked for a priest. He also asked for his lung tissue to be used for scientific research.
Carlo Urbani died on March 29, 2003, after 18 days of special care. The specific type of SARS virus he had was later named "SARS-CoV Urbani strain."
Personal Life
Carlo Urbani married Giuliana Chiorrini in 1983. Their first child, Tommaso, was born in 1987. They later had two more children.
Honours
Carlo Urbani received special awards for his important work.
Awards from Italy
- Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia: This is a special award given on May 28, 2020.
- Medaglia d'oro per i benemeriti della Sanità Pubblica: This Gold Medal for Public Health Service was given on April 7, 2003.
Awards from Other Countries
- Friendship Order: This award from Vietnam was given on April 7, 2003.
See also
In Spanish: Carlo Urbani para niños- Li Wenliang: A doctor who warned others about the COVID-19 pandemic and later died from the virus.
- Liu Jianlun: A Chinese doctor who died from the SARS virus. He is thought to have spread the virus widely during an event in Hong Kong.
