Doctor training key in remote areas

I have been to the Tibet autonomous region and Qinghai province five times since 2015 to work with local medical workers for diagnosis and treatment of echinococcosis - a parasitic infection that spreads from animals to humans. Before that, I had only been to Tibet once for a holiday.

The first time I arrived in Tibet as a doctor, sent by 302 Military Hospital, was in November 2015. I worked at Saga Hospital in Saga county. My mission was to examine and diagnose residents suspected of having the disease.

On my first day of work I was shocked to find so many people waiting to be seen at the hospital. There must have been more than 200, and they were in different age groups, from children to seniors. There was a girl whose belly was swollen as big as a soccer ball due to the disease.