Li Wenliang

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Li Wenliang ( Chinese  李文亮 , Pinyin Lǐ Wénliàng ; * October 12,  1986 in Beizhen ; † February 7,  2020 in Wuhan ) was a Chinese ophthalmologist in the city of Wuhan.

Li became known because he recognized the dangers of the pneumonia COVID-19 caused by the new coronavirus variant SARS-CoV-2 at an early stage and warned his medical colleagues about it. He was reprimanded by the Chinese authorities for spreading " rumors ". Li later developed pneumonia himself in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and died of the effects of the infection at the age of 33.

biography

Li was in Beizhen in the province of Liaoning and studied from 2004 seven years Medicine at the University of Wuhan , where he was certified as a doctor. He specialized in ophthalmology and most recently worked at the Wuhan Central Hospital. He was a member of the CPC .

Coronavirus pneumonia whistleblower 2019/2020

When a series of pneumonia in Wuhan became conspicuous at the end of December 2019, on December 30, 2019, in a WeChat group , he informed his doctor colleagues about seven patients who were treated with suspected infection with the SARS virus in the Wuhan Central Hospital. In doing so, however, he aroused the resentment of the Chinese authorities, who were particularly keen not to cause panic among the population. The Wuhan City Health Commission issued instructions on the day Li's posting that information about the novel pneumonia should only be disclosed to the public by authorized persons.

Li Wenliang's forced statement published on the Internet

On January 1, 2020, the state news agency Xinhua reported that eight people in Wuhan were being prosecuted for spreading false information on the Internet, which could have "negative social consequences". The same report confirmed that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission of the new disease or infection of medical staff. Four days after he posted it online, Li was summoned to the Wuhan City Security Bureau. There he was forced to sign a statement accusing him of "making untrue claims" that "seriously disrupted social order". The letter ended by stating, “We wish you calm down, think carefully, and we would like to seriously warn you that if you continue to be stubborn, not regret your offenses, and continue these illegal activities, you will be held criminally accountable - did you understand that? ”Li signed with“ I understood ”( 明白 ). At the end of January, he published a copy of the letter on the Weibo Internet platform . At this point, the authorities had already publicly apologized to Li.

Coronavirus infection

One week after the official warning, on January 10th, he began to show symptoms. Li became infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in a patient. His parents also fell ill. He described his symptoms on Weibo . It started with a cough , a day later he developed a fever, and another two days later he was hospitalized. According to his statements, several tests for the novel corona virus were negative. On January 30, 2020, he finally reported that the nucleic acid test had turned out positive. He signed the post with an emoji that showed a small dog with rolled-back eyes and a protruding tongue. He now had countless readers from all over China who made thousands of supportive comments.

Death and appreciation of life's work

On February 6, 2020, various Chinese media reported that Li had died. A little later there were reports that he was still alive but was in critical condition and was being treated using ECMO . A few hours later the final news of his death followed. How the Chinese censors dealt with the news of the death and the public discussion was a topic of international reporting.

Li Wenliang recognized this new disease three weeks before the international recognition of the COVID-19 pandemic when he discovered that seven patients had apparently been infected with SARS-like viruses at the "Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market" in Wuhan. His perception was based solely on the clinical observation of plausible medical relationships without the implementation of special laboratory tests or imaging examinations. Li Wenliang was trained to specialize in ophthalmology , but this type of clinical observation is one of the basic skills any doctor should have developed regardless of specialization.

family

Li left a child and his pregnant wife. When he started showing symptoms, he took a hotel room so as not to infect the family. His parents were also infected with the coronavirus but survived the infection.

literature

Web links

Commons : Li Wenliang  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Coronavirus: Hospital confirms death of whistleblower doctor. In: spiegel.de. Der Spiegel , February 7, 2020, accessed on February 7, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Georg Fahrion, DER SPIEGEL: Coronavirus: Li Wenliang - the legacy of the whistleblower - DER SPIEGEL - politics. Retrieved February 7, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c 新 冠 肺炎 “吹哨 人” 李文亮 确诊 曾被 警方 训诫 （更新） (“The whistleblower of the novel coronavirus pneumonia Li Wenliang: The truth is the most important thing (update)”). In: china.caixin.com. Caixin, February 7, 2020, accessed February 7, 2020 (Chinese).
  4. ^ Doctor Li Wenliang - Posthumously a national hero , Deutsche Welle, February 7, 2020, last accessed on May 2, 2020
  5. ↑ a b c d Stephanie Hegarty: The Chinese doctor who tried to warn others about coronavirus. BBC News, February 6, 2020, accessed February 6, 2020 .
  6. ↑
    Wikisource: 武汉 市 公安局 武昌 分局 中南 路街 派出所 训诫 书  - Sources and full texts (Chinese)
  7. ↑ 8 人 因 网上 散布 “武汉 病毒 性 肺炎” 不 实 信息 被 依法 处理 (“8 people are prosecuted for disseminating false information about 'Wuhan virus pneumonia' online”). Xinhua , January 1, 2020, accessed February 7, 2020 (Chinese).
  8. ↑ Friederike Böge: Coronavirus: He was the first to sound the alarm. In: faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , February 3, 2020, accessed on February 7, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Friederike Böge: Li Wenliang: He warned of the coronavirus - now he is dead. In: faz.net. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , February 6, 2020, accessed on February 7, 2020 .
  10. ↑ a b Cissy Zhou: Coronavirus: Whistle-blower Dr Li Wenliang confirmed dead of the disease at 34, after hours of chaotic messaging from hospital. In: scmp.com. South China Morning Post , February 7, 2020, accessed February 7, 2020 .
  11. ↑ Analysis by James Griffiths CNN: China's censors tried to control the narrative on a hero doctor's death. It backfired terribly. Retrieved February 7, 2020 .
  12. ↑ Parrish 2nd, RK, Chang, TC, Duncan Powers, SL: The value and caveats of interpreting small case series: implications for patient care . In: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2019.10.027 . New York.
  13. ↑ Chris Buckley: Chinese Doctor, Silenced After Warning of Outbreak, Dies From Coronavirus . In: The New York Times . February 6, 2020, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed February 7, 2020]).
  14. ↑ Chao Deng and Josh Chin: Chinese Doctor Who Issued Early Warning on Virus Dies . In: Wall Street Journal . February 7, 2020, ISSN  0099-9660 ( wsj.com [accessed February 7, 2020]).
  15. ↑ China starts investigation after doctor's death. Tagesschau.de. February 7, 2020, accessed February 7, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Li, Wenliang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese ophthalmologist and whistleblower
DATE OF BIRTH October 12, 1986
PLACE OF BIRTH Pickling
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 2020
Place of death Wuhan
Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Li is the family name here, Wenliang is the first name.