Doctor Ho Wang Lee’s contribution to virology

Doctor Ho Wang Lee’s contribution to virology

Doctor Ho Wang Lee’s contribution to virology includes being the first scientist to discover a virus, formulating its diagnosis methods, and creating a vaccine for the same illness. The virus caused the disease to humans, and he named the virus Hantaanan.  Moreover, the doctor formulated a procedure for diagnosing the ailment that resulted from the Hantaanan virus in addition to creating an effective vaccination for the disease caused by the virus in humans.

The contribution of Doctor Hong Wang Lee was remarkable since it served as a significant innovation in the international society of medical researchers. More specifically, a lot of resources inclusive of highly regarded scientists have been put in place for thorough research on viruses since 1950 (“Ho Wang Lee”). Despite Doctor Ho Wang Lee origin from South Korean, which had little advancement and resources for medical research the moment, he made a significant achievement in the field of medicine.

Doctor Lee provided critical but overlooked insight, such as the three steps in virology, which have significantly contributed to significant discoveries by others. The three steps involved in virology include discovering the virus causing disease, creating methods for the diagnosis of the ailment, and finally creating a vaccine for the virus to prevent its further negative impact on peoples’ health.

The first barrier to entry into the field of study was the danger of separating viruses since many of Doctor Lee’s partners fell ill, but yet he achieved a remarkable innovation in medicine. Another challenge was that at the time of Doctor Lee discovery, South Korea, which was the country of his origin, had little advancement in medical research but yet he succeeded in a procedure that had challenged scientists worldwide.

During the time in which Doctor Lee discovered the agent of the Korean fever, many scientists were already tasked with studies in virology. The various government had allocated a lot of financial aid to help scientists after the death of many army service members due to the Korean hemorrhagic fever. On the other hand, a team of virologists renowned worldwide had not discovered any virus associated with the Korean hemorrhagic fever. Furthermore, they had not found methods for diagnosing the illness nor any vaccine to prevent further infections of the virus.  Therefore, there was a lack of knowledge of the process of characterizing and managing viral epidemic diseases.

Doctor Ho Wang Lee reasoned from his prior knowledge of epidemiology by exposing several rodents, especially the mouse, to unknown infectious diseases. The disease was transmitted among many mice, after which the doctor and his partners collected tissues from the infected rodents. They also collected tissue from a health mouse that had no incidence of Korean fever.

The doctor then used a florescent antigen from human Korean fever patients to stain the rodents’ tissues. More specifically, the doctor and his team stained the lungs of rodents since many virologists did not use the organ during their researches (“Dr. Ho Wang Lee”). The doctor then discovered that negatively susceptible antigen mouse had high chances of contracting the disease. The discovery also led to the formulation of a vaccine to prevent many people in Asia and Europe from contracting the Hatanaan disease.

Doctor Ho Wang Lee’s contribution to virology is crucial for students, especially in their epidemiologic studies. More specifically, virology students are capable of understanding that people with harmful susceptible antigens are capable of contracting and transmitting viruses among populations hence causing an epidemic.

Works Cited

“Dr. Hong Wang Lee M.D., Ph.D.”2019. https://www.princemahidolaward.org/people/dr-ho-wang-lee/

“Hong Wang Lee.” Wikiwand. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Ho_Wang_Lee