At a Glance / Aperçu

AIDS claims medical pioneer, humanitarian

Canadian Medical Association Journal 1996; 155: 741

A 450-bed hospital in a northern Ugandan town is the legacy left by Montreal-born surgeon Lucille Teasdale, 67, who died in August from complications related to AIDS. The humanitarian and missionary, who spent most of her medical career in Africa, probably contracted HIV while operating on a soldier during Uganda's civil war in the late 1970s.

A 1955 graduate of the University of Montreal, Dr. Teasdale was one of Canada's first female surgeons. She met her future husband, Dr. Peiro Corti, in Montreal and accompanied him to observe missionary hospitals in Africa and India. In 1961 they began work in a 45-bed clinic in Gulu, Uganda, and over the years converted it into a large facility with surgical and pediatric wards and schools for nurses, laboratory technicians, health educators and physicians. Humanitarian work earned Dr. Teasdale the Order of Canada and Order of Quebec, and awards from Italy's most prestigious academic and cultural institution, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and the International Medical Women's Association.

| CMAJ September 15, 1996 (vol 155, no 6) |