HOAM THE HO-AM FOUNDATION

Prof. Ho-Wang Lee discovered the virus of the hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. He named it the ″Hantan Virus″ after the name of a river north of Seoul, and he developed the virus vaccine for popular use. Dr. Lee`s microbiological research team succeeded in discovering the virus of hemorrhagic fever, known as one of the world`s three fatal contagious diseases, in 1976 as a result of hard work over eight years. The discovery caused a sensation in the international community of medical science, as many scholars in other countries had failed in their efforts over the years. In the United States, intensive research had been conducted in vain for 13 years, starting in 1951.

Dr. Lee faced various difficulties in the course of his research. Some people misunderstood his aim, thinking he was engaged in developing a biological weapon. Moreover several of his team members contracted the disease. He overcamed the difficulties, however, to complete a diagnosing method in 1989. He developed the vaccine for the virus in 1990. Dr. Lee made an unprecedented achievement in the history of medicine by successfully undertaking the entire process of discovering the virus of a contagious disease, establishing a method to diagnose it and developing a vaccine against it.