Hong Kong infectious disease hero looks back at epidemics, pandemic and career lessons
Dr Owen Tsang, medical director of Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre, to be honoured for work on front lines of various outbreaks
Right after Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin finished his training in infectious diseases, he suddenly found himself on the front lines of Hong Kong’s 2003 Sars outbreak, a time he describes as being lonely and stressful.
Tsang, now the medical director of the Hospital Authority Infectious Disease Centre in Hong Kong, recalled that at the start of the three-month outbreak, the world had little knowledge of Sars, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, and limited medical supplies on hand.
“We could not eat when facing our colleagues … After work, we had to return to our dorm and could not go anywhere else, which felt like a prison,” the 59-year-old said.
“We felt quite lonely … We saw many young patients deteriorate and nearly 20 per cent of patients were admitted to the intensive care unit. We also had colleagues who were infected. It was very stressful.”
But the experience failed to dissuade Tsang from joining efforts to combat other diseases, with the infectious disease specialist at the forefront of the fight against avian and swine flu, dengue fever, Ebola, Aids, malaria, Mpox and Covid-19.
His work has seen him named one of nine people honoured this year with the Hospital Authority’s Outstanding Staff Award.
