Obituary | Lee Tak-hong, Hong Kong’s pioneering allergy doctor, dies aged 71
- Lee died on August 26 of aspiration pneumonia, but was recently treated for a blood circulation disorder
- He helped established allergy studies as a speciality in Hong Kong, and was still working on an educational programme in his last days
Lee Tak-hong, a Hong Kong doctor who rose to prominence for his breakthroughs in treating allergies, has died at the age of 71.
Lee, director of the Allergy Centre at Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, died on August 26 at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital with loved ones by his side, according to family members.
His immediate cause of death was aspiration pneumonia, but he had recently been treated for peripheral vascular disease, a type of blood circulation disorder that causes the blood vessels outside the heart and brain to be narrowed or blocked.
He was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis last month, an unexpected and rare autoimmune disease.
Lee was born in Hong Kong but went to England when he was 10. After boarding school, he studied medical sciences at Clare College at Cambridge University and graduated with first-class honours. He completed his clinical training at Guy’s Hospital Medical School in London.
