Max Theiler (Theiler), Max

January 30, 1899, Mr.. - August 11, 1972
South African bacteriologist Max Max Theiler was born in Pretoria and was the youngest of two sons of Emma (Dzheggi) and Arnold Thaler, Swiss. His father, a well-known veterinarian, was the chief of the South African State Veterinary Service. Supported by his father in the desire to make a medical career, T. in 1916. entered the two-year medical courses at the University of Cape Town. Then he went to London, where he studied at the medical school at the Hospital of St.. Thomas and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a branch of London University.
After receiving medical degree in 1922. T. He was appointed assistant in the department of tropical medicine at Harvard Medical School. His first job at Harvard, dealt with amoebic dysentery and controlled use of rat bite fever (disease caused by rat bite) and therapeutic purposes (by analogy with Julius Wagner von Jauregg malarial fever in the treatment of syphilis). Soon, however, T. interested in yellow fever.
Yellow fever is an acute viral disease observed in Africa and America. Mortality from it often exceeds 10 percent, and even now the disease remains incurable. During the design of American members of the Panama Canal Commission for yellow fever, including Walter Reed and William Gorgas, found that the vector of the disease is a certain kind of mosquito. Based on studies of Reed in 1916. Rockefeller Society has prepared a program to eradicate yellow fever. The adoption of such measures was due to the fact that medical experts have suggested that the ships passing through the canal, will facilitate the transport of yellow fever from the Caribbean Sea in Asia. Disasters still not happened, because immunity to dengue fever is a cross against yellow fever.
. However, this fact was not known, and the Rockefeller program seemed very appropriate.
. Based on the results of the Commission on yellow fever, the researchers concluded that the disease affects only humans and can be eliminated by eliminating mosquito populations or a vaccine
. Since the last exercise seemed more likely, the main objectives are fundamental studies of disease and its causative agent.
In 1919, Mr.. Japanese researcher Hideo Noguchi reported that he was able to isolate the bacteria responsible for the emergence of yellow fever. By the mid 20-ies. other scientists were able to infect agent of this disease in laboratory animals that could be considered an outstanding achievement, and in 1926. T. and his colleague Andrew Selard received convincing evidence that yellow fever is caused not by bacteria and virus filtering. The following year, the Rockefeller scientists to society managed to infect rhesus monkeys, typing her blood is sick of yellow fever. Continuing the work at Harvard, T. able to infect mice by introducing the virus into their brains, rather than subcutaneously, as did other researchers. This was an important step, t. to the use of mice, significantly less expensive and more convenient to use than a monkey, accelerated the study of yellow fever.
In 1930. T. left Harvard and moved to the Department of International Health, with the Rockefeller Foundation in New York. During the year, he improved mouse protection test, in which mice were injected with a mixture of yellow fever virus and human serum. Survival of mice showed that the serum neutralized the virus and that the serum donor, thus, is immune. This test allowed the first accurate estimate the prevalence of yellow fever throughout the world.
One of the continuing threats to medical researchers dealing with infectious diseases, is the possibility of infection. Indeed, in the period from 1928 to 1930. five scientists, including Noguchi, contracted yellow fever and died. T. himself caught in 1929, but survived and subsequently acquired immunity to the virus.
. Using a combination of virus and immune serum, Wilbur Sauer, head of the Laboratory of the Rockefeller company, prepared the first vaccine against yellow fever
. Receive an injection of such mixtures are not sick of yellow fever, and they have developed immunity to it. Being very expensive for widespread use, the vaccine was used for immunization of researchers.
Strains of viruses, cultured T. in mice, gradually became the basis for the two vaccines. First, a weakened strain of mouse was used in 1934. French government to protect the resident on French territory in West Africa, where the vaccine was very effective and convenient for the administration, though not entirely safe (and sometimes it caused encephalitis - inflammation of the brain). Therefore T. and his colleague have developed a second strain. Designated as strain 17D, was obtained from the strain of the virus BIM, which is grown in chicken embryos with a remote neural tissue. In contrast to the first new vaccine strain caused only a moderate reaction, if any, caused them, easier to mass production, it has become widely used in 1937. For many years, these two vaccines were very effective in combating yellow fever, despite the later discovery that the disease is found not only in humans. In Africa, in particular, it affects monkeys and periodically re-transmitted to humans through mosquito bites.
"For discoveries concerning yellow fever, and combat 'T. was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1951. At a presentation at the presentation of awards Hans Bergstrend of the Karolinska Institute said that 'the opening of T. gives new hope ... that we will be able to cope with other viral diseases, many of which have a devastating effect, and against which we are completely powerless. "
In addition to yellow fever, T. studied and other viral diseases. He is particularly interested in polio and discovered an identical infection in mice, known as the encephalomyelitis of mice, or illness Thaler. In 1964, Mr.. T. became a professor of epidemiology and microbiology at Yale University. In 1967. he resigned.
In 1928, Mr.. T. married Lillian Graham, they had one daughter. Apart from the work he was interested in baseball and reading, especially fond of historical and philosophical books. Living in the U.S., T. remained a citizen of South Africa.
T. died August 11, 1972
In addition to the Nobel Prize, T. Chalmer received a medal of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (1939), Medal of Flattery, Harvard University (1945) and the Albert Lasker Award of the American Public Health Association (1949).