Let's spare a thought for Carlo Urbani, the microbiologist whose intuition and self sacrifice almost certainly saved thousands of lives in 2003 by first identifying SARS as a deadly new disease, notifying the WHO and persuading Vietnamese authorities to isolate patients. 
...and screen passengers. He was called to treat the patient that brought SARS to Hanoi, and realized that the staff at the hotel was already falling sick. His early warning, and successful policy activism with local authorities limited the extent of the outbreak.
Before the WHO, Urbani had been the president of @MSF in Italy, and was part of the delegation that accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. He was an expert on tropical diseases, and a tireless advocate for universal availability of essential medicines in poor countries.
Sadly Urbani contracted himself the disease, and fell violently ill. He died on March 29th, 2003, leaving behind his wife Giuliana, and three kids, Tommaso, Luca, e Maddalena. He was 46 years old.
Did this guy LIVE or what? There is no episode of House with a finer piece of detective work. theguardian.com/news/2003/apr/…
I think that his most outstanding characteristic is that he considered the world to be his patient. It's fine to be a doctor and say "I work in this ward at this institution, I get assigned patient, I do my very best to help them, then they leave, and I collect a paycheck".
That is in the end how most of us live our lives. But clearly that's not how he saw it. He worried about the patients that were out there somewhere, of the institutions that were missing, and of the medicines that were not made available.
I don't know maybe checking for snails under rocks is standard procedure in epi world, but it seems pretty impressive to me! @EpiEllie @ashtroid22
As anaside, Urbani is also a shining example of a devout Catholic taking his faith to its logical consequences in terms of personal behavior. We are all our brothers' keepers! @DavidPaternostr @JamesMartinSJ
His wife and kids run an NGO called AICU (Associazione Italiana Carlo Urbani). They give scolarships to students to attend biology workshops, among many other worthy causes. If you found his life inspiring, perhaps you could contribute, as I just did. aicu.it/come-aiutarci/…
Here is a short documentary in Italian on Urbani. He was also a keen cook. He collected spices on his travels and used it at home. Here is a "Spice with no name" from #Mauritania. Perhaps somebody knows what it is?
His spice collection looks like a 19th century laboratory.
I think I'm going to copy this. Pictures are one thing, but smell has existed for waaaay longer than sight and is much more instinctive. What kind of smells could a visitor collect from your hometown/country, and take home that would likely last a long time?
I went to Japan when I was six with my parents, and then again when I was 22. On the second visit, the first time I smelled a Tatami mat it was as if I had never left. I wonder how long a piece of tatami would keep it's smell stored in a dark dry place and opened once in a while?
