Kitasato Shibasaburō
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Tokyo, Japan | |
---|---|
Nationality | Japanese |
Known for | Co-discoverer of Bubonic plague in Hong Kong |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Bacteriology |
Institutions | Tokyo Imperial University |
Baron Kitasato Shibasaburō (北里 柴三郎, January 29 [O.S. 17 January] , 1853 – June 13, 1931) [1] was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague in Hong Kong during an outbreak in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin.
Kitasato was nominated for the first annual Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901.[2] Kitasato and Emil von Behring, working together in Berlin in 1890, announced the discovery of diphtheria antitoxin serum. Von Behring was awarded the 1901 Nobel Prize because of this work, but Kitasato was not.
Biography
Kitasato was born in Okuni village,
He studied under
After returning to Japan in 1891, he founded the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases with the assistance of Fukuzawa Yukichi. One of his early assistants was August von Wassermann. Kitasato demonstrated how dead cultures can be used in vaccination. He also studied the mode of infection in tuberculosis.
He traveled to Hong Kong in 1894 at the request of the Japanese government during
After his work on the Bubonic Plague in Hong Kong, Kitasato continued his work on infectious diseases by researching Northeast Asian epidemic plagues and in 1909, he presented a paper on Tuberculosis in Europe.[11] In 1911, Kitasato found himself in Manchuria amidst one of their most severe pneumonic plagues studying its prevention,[4] as he believed his purpose was to investigate the science behind public health and provide advancement in that field.[12]
When the Institute for Infectious Diseases was incorporated into
In September 1921, Kitasato founded, together with several medical scientists, the Sekisen Ken-onki Corporation, with the intention of manufacturing the most reliable clinical thermometer possible. The company was later renamed Terumo Corporation.
Kitasato also was the first dean of medicine at Keio University, first president of the Japan Medical Association, and served on the House of Peers. He was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron) in the kazoku peerage system in February 1924. Although Kitasato transitioned from actively studying disease to politics and conferences, he continued improving upon his work on tuberculosis up until his death and made significant contributions in the realm of public health.
Kitasato was elected an International Member of the American Philosophical Society in 1914.[13]
Kitasato Shibasaburō died of an intracranial hemorrhage at his home in Azabu, Tokyo, on June 13, 1931. His grave is at the Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo.
His portrait is going to be used in new 1,000 yen banknotes scheduled to be issued in 2024.
See also
- Kitasato flask, laboratory glassware named in his honor
- Kitasatospora, an Actinobacteria genus named after Kitasato Shibasaburō
- Satoshi Ōmura
References
- ^ Note: In fact, his family name is pronounced Kitazato. He spelled his name as Kitasato while studying in Germany, where single 's' is pronounced as vocal [z].
- ^ Shibasaburo Kitasako - Nomination
- ^ Ōmura, Satoshi; Utsuno, Hideo (2003). Seimei Kagaku no Genten wa Soko ni Atta Seitan 150-nen Kinen Kitasato Shibasaburō. Kitasato Kenkyūsho. p. 12.
- ^ S2CID 239872342.
- S2CID 31767623.
- S2CID 26567729.
- PMID 7474339.
- ISBN 1468484249.
- ISBN 0521524504.
- PMID 10879.
- JSTOR 25339991.
- PMID 20776250.
- ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
Further reading
- Kantha, S. S. (March 1991). "A centennial review; the 1890 tetanus antitoxin paper of von Behring and Kitasato and the related developments". The Keio Journal of Medicine. 40 (1): 35–39. PMID 2046211.
- Kantha, S. S. (September 1992). "The legacy of von Behring and Kitasato". Immunology Today. 13 (9): 374. PMID 1466755.
- Shampo, M. A.; Kyle, R. A. (February 1999). "Shibasaburo Kitasato--Japanese bacteriologist". Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 74 (2): 146. PMID 10069351.
- Orent, Wendy (2004). Plague : the mysterious past and terrifying future of the world's most dangerous disease. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-3685-8.
- Porter, Roy (June 2004). Blood and guts : a short history of medicine (Reprint ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-32569-5.