The 302 Military Hospital was under strain. They felt the disease that this family was suffering from was extremely similar to the one that was spreading through Guangdong and Hong Kong. Making a quick decision, they contacted the local Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Beijing's Fengtai district, and at the same time reportedly contacted the Ministry of Health. Fengtai district CDC staff members had previously visited the 302 Military Hospital, but found nothing, and returned to their offices.
As the lianghui were convening at this time, the army paid particular attention to the health of its personnel; the CDC's specialists in disease control were naturally on high alert. Upon receiving the report from the Fengtai bureau, they immediately dispatched a specialist to begin formal contact with Beijing's first case of SARS. The person assigned to this duty was the young director of Beijing's CDC emergency center, Shen Zhuang.
"I Remember How I Shivered that Day"
An emergency health specialist and a man of upstanding character, Shen Zhuang, would later be part of the frontline efforts to fight SARS, particularly in March and April. He and his comrades threw themselves headfirst into an intense and dangerous battle to save the life of every SARS patient. As a result, he became one of the chief witnesses to Beijing's SARS epidemic.
Though the character in his name "Zhuang" means "robust," Zhuang looked opposite to "robust" . Known as "SARS's #1 Enemy" , I met the young disease control expert at a time when SARS was ravaging Beijing.
"It looks like fighting SARS has taken up most of your mealtimes," I said to him. He laughed.
The first time we met, we greeted each other like old friends, and with the kind of face-to-face contact that makes Beijingers feel uncomfortable—and there are photographs of us to prove it, side-by-side, conversing for hours. To tell the truth, at the time I still had my apprehensions about becoming infected. Regardless, I was the interviewer, my profession and my conscience prevented me from doing anything that might hurt the feelings of this hero who had saved the lives of countless Beijingers. But to be honest, in my heart, I was anxious.
The emergence of Shen and his colleagues gave a clear context to Beijing's SARS epidemic, and also brought some true, first-hand material to my writing.
"I have here the complete original medical records of every single SARS patient in Beijing. Altogether, it's this big," he says, stretching out his arms.
In my view, Shen Zhuang is one of the greatest warriors of the battle against SARS. Before the publication of this book, few people may know of him, but I have no doubt that his name will be remembered in years to come. It is Shen and his colleagues at the emergency center that he led, and the 2500-strong Epidemiological Survey Group that he later established, that the people of Beijing and the Chinese nation have to thank for the victory against SARS. Much of the data used to combat this epidemic was collected by Shen and his comrades at the risk of their own lives—from the sickbeds of SARS patients, from ambulances, and even from morgues.
The death of the father of that patient from Shanxi revealed the secrets of the SARS epidemic.
On March 8th at around 5 am, Shen Zhuang was roused by an urgent phone call. He had just returned home from treating an emergency, and had barely managed to catch two hours' sleep.
"Shen Zhuang, come to the center ASAP, there's an urgent matter we need you to deal with!"
"I'm on my way." Shen Zhuang pulled the quilt over his wife and child. In early spring, the cold in Beijing is menacing. Shen Zhuang shivered.
"I'm not sure why, but I remember how I shivered that day," Shen Zhuang says during our interview.
That morning, Shen and his subordinates had arrived at the 302 Military Hospital. The morning's meeting had been convened at the suggestion of 302 Military Hospital. In attendance were staff from the Beijing Bureau of Health, the national Center for Disease Control, the Public Health Office of the People's Liberation Army, the 302 Military Hospital, and the Beijing CDC, represented by Shen Zhuang. The topic of discussion was the analysis and treatment of Beijing's first casualty from SARS, and the consequences of this first case for the situation in Beijing.
The group at the meeting immediately went about dividing up the work of dealing with 302's SARS patients and casualties: 302 would be in charge of treatment; the PLA's Public Health Office would track at-risk groups; the national CDC would be in charge of the investigation into the epidemic; Shen Zhuang's group would be in charge of examining anyone who came into contact with the patient outside of the army. The meeting went on until 11 am; afterwards, the casualty was taken to the hospital morgue.
In fact, under the unified management of the city government, Beijing's health system had already taken a few measures before the epidemic broke out in April. When the discovery of SARS was formally announced at a press conference in Guangdong province on February 11th, the leadership at the Beijing Bureau of Health had immediately ordered five hospitals that treated infectious respiratory diseases to carry out monitoring for SARS: the Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Beijing Haidian Hospital, Beijing Friendship Hospital, and Beijing Children's Hospital. The city's 120 emergency services call center also undertook the appropriate duties.
