AIDS sufferers may be ready to come out of the closet and continue the work of Mike Sinclair in publicising the killer disease.
Former dentist Mr Sinclair has spoken on AIDS education, awareness and discrimination since he was revealed to be HIV-positive two years ago.
Now he is in hospital after collapsing in his Western district flat, having lost six kilograms in three weeks, and is finding it increasingly hard to carry on the work.
Dr Patrick Li Chung-ki, head of Queen Elizabeth Hospital's AIDS unit, said some of his other patients were wavering between continuing to conceal their secret from bosses and family or revealing all to make people more aware of the disease.
'In a sense it's different because Mike has lost his job, so he has nothing to fear,' said Dr Li. 'He was working at the AIDS Foundation and he didn't have any family in Hong Kong.
'It would be of great help if more people would come out and speak publicly, especially if they're Chinese.' Mr Sinclair said he would leave his hospital bed to attend Thursday's World AIDS Day functions in a wheelchair.
'Sometimes when I'm really sick, I wake up and think: 'I don't want to do this, I want to go back to being Mike Sinclair, stand-up comedian',' said the man who helped found the Comedy Club at the Godown bar and restaurant in Central.
