Dr. Donald Low, a leading Canadian infectious disease expert who rose to prominence while helping Toronto cope with the SARS crisis that killed hundreds worldwide a decade ago, has died at age 68 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Low was the microbiologist in chief at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto.
After the 2003 breakout of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Toronto, Low oversaw regular updates to the public about the syndrome, which eventually killed 44 people in Canada and nearly 800 worldwide.
Dr. Allison McGeer, director of infectious disease control at Mount Sinai hospital, worked with Low and knew him for 25 years.
In an interview on CBC Radio's Metro Morning shortly after news of his death broke, McGeer said Low provided a voice of calm to a city gripped by fear during the SARS outbreak.