Hong Kong is to have a group of disease-causing bacteria named after it in recognition of a group of SAR microbiologists who identified them - the first such discovery in 20 years.
Their find and the naming of the bacteria group - called Laribacter Hongkongensis - at the University of Hong Kong is a first for scientists in the territory.
More than 100 people have been tested for exposure to the potentially fatal new group of bacteria to gauge how infectious it is, while medical experts are still uncertain how much of a health risk the bacteria pose.
The microbiologists identified the bacteria in a 54-year-old liver patient early last year. The team named the strain found in the patient as HKU1.
Medical experts in Switzerland also found the bacteria in three patients several months after the university's discovery. Experts there sent the sample to Hong Kong for confirmation.
In Hong Kong, the patient had suffered from cirrhosis of the liver, caused by alcoholism, and was admitted to hospital with high fever and shortness of breath.