At the time of this writing, the novel coronavirus has killed more than 1,000 people in mainland China and has infected more than 43,000 people worldwide. China alerted the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 31, 2019, of several cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, a port city of 11 million people in the central Hubei Province. As quarantine measures throughout China strain medical resources, two AOFAS International Members are providing leadership to bring medical expertise and aid to Wuhan.

Professor Jiang Bau Guo, MD, leads a team of 400 healthcare workers from Beijing to screen and treat serious patients infected with the coronavirus. He leaves his position as president of Peking University People's Hospital to serve for one month at the Affiliated Hospital of Wuhan University. Dr. Jiang was the Kenneth A. Johnson International Guest Speaker at AOFAS Annual Meeting 2018 in Boston.

Professor Ma Xin, MD, leads four National Emergency Medical Teams from Huashan University of Shanghai. These teams have been deployed to four medical facilities, including one mobile hospital, to treat patients and deliver needed medical supplies. Professor Ma was an AOFAS Traveling Fellow in 2011 and the host of the Chinese Orthopedic Association/AOFAS combined meeting in 2019.

Professors Jiang and Ma report that their teams have been successful in delivering important medical supplies and that the field hospitals have made a difference in early detection of the coronavirus and treatment of the pneumonia. Although the quarantine has been very difficult for everyone throughout China, they feel it has been successful in stopping the spread of this aggressive virus. The doctors continue to emphasize the single most important public safety practice: Wash your hands.

Ma Xin, MD, and team prepare to enter an intensive care unit at a Wuhan hospital

Jiang Bau Guo, MD, organizes medical teams in Wuhan