New Delhi: Every year on July 6, World Zoonoses Day is observed to mark the successful administration of the first rabies vaccine by Louis Pasteur. To those uninitiated, Zoonosis or Zoonotic diseases refer to infections or infectious diseases which come from animals. It can be rabies, bird flu, swine flu or any other foodborne infections and most of these diseases originate in animals and can be fatal for humans. Hence, we pay our respect to Louis Pasteur on this day, whose action saved the lives of millions of people in subsequent years.
Louis Pasteur: The man who saved millions of lives
Louis Pasteur was born on December 27, 1822, in France’s Dole to a Catholic family of a poor tanner. Pasteur was dyslexic and dysgraphic and was an average student initially who loved fishing and sketching more than academics. He drew several portraits of his parents, friends and neighbours.
But his life would take a turn a couple of decades later in 1842 when he took the entrance test for the École Normale Supérieure and there, he developed a liking for mathematics and physics. He passed the first set of tests with a low rank and had to struggle a lot before getting his science degree. In 1846, he became a professor of physics at the Collège de Tournon. But thanks to the chemist Antoine Jérôme Balard, he fell in love with chemistry as well. In 1848, Pasteur became a professor of chemistry at the University of Strasbourg and four years later in 1952, he became the chair of chemistry.
Louis Pasteur: What are his achievements?
Louis Pasteur enjoyed a decorated career in research with the crowing legacy being that his works gave breakthroughs which helped doctors to save millions of lives by developing vaccines for rabies and anthrax. He is widely hailed as one of the founders of modern bacteriology and is called the ‘father of bacteriology’ and the ‘father of microbiology’ along with Robert Koch.
His contributions to science, medicine and technology are almost unprecedented as he pioneered the study of molecular asymmetry, came up with the process of pasteurization, discovered that microorganisms cause fermentation and disease and even saved France’s beer, wine, and silk industries in that process. Moreover, he developed vaccines against rabies and anthrax. Also, he is considered one of the fathers of the germ theory of diseases as he demonstrated that diseases could be prevented by killing or stopping germs, which had a profound impact on the hygiene system of our society. He received numerous accolades in his lifetime, including the Legion of Honour, the highest order of merit, both military and civilian in France.
Every year on July 6, World Zoonoses Day is observed to mark the successful administration of the first rabies vaccine by Louis Pasteur, whose action saved the lives of millions of people in subsequent years. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
