歷史上的今天2月17日:病毒學家高橋理明博士的94歲冥誕
日本病毒學家 Michiaki Takahashi 博士開發出第一種水痘疫苗。
此後,高橋的疫苗已作為預防傳染性病毒性疾病嚴重病例及其傳播的有效措施,被用於全球數百萬兒童。
高橋道明 1928 年的這一天出生於日本大阪。他在大阪大學獲得醫學學位,並於 1959 年加入大阪大學微生物疾病研究所。
在研究麻疹和脊髓灰質炎病毒後,高橋博士於 1963 年在美國貝勒學院接受研究獎學金。正是在這段時間裡,他的兒子患上了嚴重的水痘,導致他將自己的專業知識轉向對抗這種高度傳染性疾病。
高橋博士於 1965 年回到日本,開始在動物和人體組織中培養活的但減弱的水痘病毒。經過短短五年的開發,它已準備好進行臨床試驗。
1974 年,高橋博士開發了第一種針對引起水痘病毒的疫苗。隨後對免疫抑制患者進行了嚴格的研究,並被證明非常有效。
1986年,大阪大學微生物疾病研究基金會開始在日本推廣,這是世界衛生組織批准的唯一一種水痘疫苗。 高橋博士的救命疫苗很快在 80 多個國家得到應用。
1994 年,他被任命為大阪大學微生物疾病研究組的主任,直到退休。由於他的創新,每年預防數百萬例水痘病例。
Today in History February 17
Michiaki Takahashi was born in Osaka, Japan, on this day in 1928. He graduated from Osaka University with a medical degree and joined the Osaka University Research Institute for Microbial Disease in 1959. Dr. Takahashi received a research fellowship at Baylor College in the United States in 1963 after investigating measles and polio viruses. His son got a bad case of chickenpox during this time, prompting him to focus his skills on combating the highly contagious virus.
In 1965, Dr. Takahashi returned to Japan and began growing live chickenpox viruses in animal and human tissue. It was ready for clinical trials after only five years of development. Dr. Takahashi discovered the first vaccination against the varicella virus, which causes chickenpox, in 1974. It was then put through extensive testing with immunocompromised people and found to be incredibly successful. The only varicella vaccine approved by the World Health Organization was launched in Japan in 1986 by the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases at Osaka University.