Print

Mail

wiki links

Mackay doctor discharged from hospital

The doctor from Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei who caused SARS fears in Japan last month, has recuperated and is now in home quarantine.

The doctor, surnamed Chou, who recovered after receiving treatment as a probable SARS patient, was discharged from Mackay Memorial Hospital yesterday to begin a 14-day home quarantine.

In a taped recording yesterday, Chou said he was sorry that he caused anxiety and anger in Japan for a possible, although unwitting, transmission of SARS while on a sightseeing trip to Japan soon after he attended a patient in the Mackay emergency room whose bed was next to a SARS patient.

Chou said he has recuperated and will work even harder to take care of patients, particularly SARS patients.

Dr. Kuo Hsu-dah (郭許達), director of Mackay's SARS treatment center, said Chou is a hardworking doctor with integrity, and he welcomed Chou to resume his work at Mackay immediately after his home quarantine ends.

According to Chou, he was attending a patient in the emergency room the night of May 4 when a noodle-shop owner in Hsinchuang, surnamed Lee, was rushed in with SARS symptoms. At that time, Chou said, neither Lee nor the doctors who attended Lee were sure whether Lee had contracted SARS. Chou said he was wearing SARS-prevention gear.

Chou said he joined medical school pals four days later on a sightseeing trip to Japan.

During the trip, he said he developed a fever but was able to bring the fever down through self-medication.

He was listed as a probable SARS patient immediately upon returning to Taiwan and was isolated for treatment.

Chou's fever and the possibility of transmitting SARS to Japan had upset the Japanese, resulting in an apology from the Taiwan representative in Tokyo, Lo Fu-chuan (羅福全).
This story has been viewed 2122 times.