Life and Style | The Independent UK - Review of the Year 2009 ...

Six years later, Professor Liu Jianlun, a specialist in respiratory medicine visiting Hong Kong from the Chinese city of Guangzhou, sneezed in a lift at the Metropole Hotel and sparked a global panic. ... In June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a level six global alert ? the highest ? for the first time in 40 years. It was intended to help the world prepare for an imminent lethal viral attack not seen in decades and required the mobilisation of immense ...