From the plague to new emerging infectious diseases: a tribute to Alexandre Yersin and other lifesaving Science Heroes. “PLAGUES” is an exhibition that unravels the history of the plague: the devastating effects of pandemics, the battle to identify their sources, and the prospects of new outbreaks and challenges from new emerging infectious diseases. This exhibition invites you to explore the inspiring life of Alexandre Yersin, a man of scientific excellence, humanism and adventure. And to discover other Science Heroes and learn more about the scientific and medical collaborations between France and Hong Kong, and its implications for world health. Plague. The very word carries an unholy resonance, from the infamous disease characterised by fever, buboes and delirium to any contagious disease that spreads rapidly and kills many people. It has shaped history with a mysterious and apocalyptic power! Hong Kong, 120 years ago: Yersinia pestis, the bacillus responsible for centuries of death yielded its identity to humanity’s advancing technologies and to a French-Swiss maverick doctor, Alexandre Yersin. Working from a makeshift straw hut laboratory in Kennedy Town, in just a few days Yersin identified the plague bacillus that was responsible for the outbreak of bubonic plague that was to spread across the world. Hong Kong, nowadays: A scientific medical collaboration between France and Hong Kong perpetuates through the HKU-Pasteur Research Pole founded by the Institut Pasteur and the University of Hong Kong. This relationship builds on synergies between its partners with the goal of establishing the capability to detect, contain and treat new plagues promptly in both the developed and developing worlds.