World Health Organization officials

Carlo Urbani (Italian: [ˈkarlo urˈbaːni] ; 19 October 1956 – 29 March 2003) was an Italian physician and microbiologist and the first to identify severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as probably a new and dangerously contagious viral disease, and his early warning to the World Health Organization (WHO) triggered a swift and global response credited with saving numerous lives. Shortly afterwards, he himself became infected and died.

Marc Danzon was the European regional director for the World Health Organization from 2000 until 2010. Danzon, who is French, has a background working as a child psychiatrist. In February 2010, Zsuzsanna Jakab succeeded him.