Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
Encyclopedia
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine; (Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin) (BNI) is a medical institution based in Hamburg
, Germany
which is dedicated to research, treatment, training and therapy of tropical and infectious diseases.
The body responsible for the BNI is the Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)
and the Government Agency for Social Affairs, Family Affairs, Health and Environment of Hamburg.
The BNI is allied with the Kwame Nkrumah
University in Ghana, where there is a laboratory complex named the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine. Today, there is a staff of approximately 400 people working in Hamburg and Kumasi
combined. Presently, it is considered the most important research facility regarding tropical medicine
in Germany.
The inpatient hospital department is since 2006 located at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.
[1]
Today the institute continues its research and treatment of tropical diseases, including dangerous diseases such as Lassa fever
, Marburg virus
, Ebola fever and leishmaniasis
.
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
which is dedicated to research, treatment, training and therapy of tropical and infectious diseases.
Federal Ministry of Health (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of Health, is a ministry of the German federal government...
and the Government Agency for Social Affairs, Family Affairs, Health and Environment of Hamburg.
The BNI is allied with the Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah was the leader of Ghana and its predecessor state, the Gold Coast, from 1952 to 1966. Overseeing the nation's independence from British colonial rule in 1957, Nkrumah was the first President of Ghana and the first Prime Minister of Ghana...
University in Ghana, where there is a laboratory complex named the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine. Today, there is a staff of approximately 400 people working in Hamburg and Kumasi
Kumasi
Kumasi is a city in southern central Ghana's Ashanti region. It is located near Lake Bosomtwe, in the Rain Forest Region about northwest of Accra. Kumasi is approximately north of the Equator and north of the Gulf of Guinea...
combined. Presently, it is considered the most important research facility regarding tropical medicine
Tropical medicine
Tropical medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with health problems that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or prove more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions....
in Germany.
History
On 1 October, 1900 the "Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases" was opened in the former administration building of a naval hospital in Hamburg. Bernhard Nocht (1857-1945), a naval physician was appointed superintendent and director of the clinic. In 1942, the institute's name was changed to "Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases" in honour of Nocht's 85th birthday. In 1990 it adopted its present name.The inpatient hospital department is since 2006 located at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.
Research contributions
The following list contains a few of the contributions made at the Bernhard Nocht Institute :[1]
- 1904 Nocht's assistant, chemist Gustav GiemsaGustav GiemsaGustav Giemsa was a German chemist and bacteriologist who was a native of Medar-Blechhammer. He is remembered for creating a dye solution commonly known as "Giemsa stain"...
creates the Giemsa stainGiemsa stainGiemsa stain, named after Gustav Giemsa, an early German microbiologist, is used in cytogenetics and for the histopathological diagnosis of malaria and other parasites.-Uses:...
, an improvement of the existing Romanowsky stainRomanowsky stainRomanowsky staining is a prototypical staining technique that was the forerunner of several distinct but similar methods, including Giemsa, Jenner, Wright, Field, and Leishman stains, which are used to differentiate cells in pathologic specimens....
. - 1916 PathologistPathologyPathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
Henrique da Rocha LimaHenrique da Rocha LimaHenrique da Rocha Lima was a Brazilian physician, pathologist and infectologist. He discovered Rickettsia prowazekii, the pathogen of epidemic typhus. Rickettsia prowazekii was named after German zoologist Stanislaus von Prowazek.Henrique da Rocha Lima received his M.D. degree from the Medical...
identifies the causative agent (Rickettsia prowazeki} of epidemic typhus. - 1911-1926 Improvements regarding malariaMalariaMalaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
therapy are made; experimentation is concentrated on producing effective derivatives of quinineQuinineQuinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
to reduce side-effects. - 1918 Dr. Rocha-Lima identifies the causative agent of trench feverTrench feverTrench fever is a moderately serious disease transmitted by body lice. It infected armies in Flanders, France, Poland, Galicia, Italy, Salonika, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt in World War I Trench fever (also known as "Five day fever", "Quintan fever" (febris Quintana in Latin), "Urban trench...
(Rochalimea quintana), later renamed BorreliaBorreliaBorrelia is a genus of bacteria of the spirochete phylum. It causes borreliosis, a zoonotic, vector-borne disease transmitted primarily by ticks and some by lice, depending on the species...
. - 1943 The discovery concerning the missing part of the reproduction cycle of (PlasmodiumPlasmodiumPlasmodium is a genus of parasitic protists. Infection by these organisms is known as malaria. The genus Plasmodium was described in 1885 by Ettore Marchiafava and Angelo Celli. Currently over 200 species of this genus are recognized and new species continue to be described.Of the over 200 known...
praecox) in bird malaria is made. - 1950 HelminthologistHelminthologyHelminthology is the study of worms, especially parasitic worms. This field deals with the study of their taxonomy and the effect on their hosts....
Hans VogelHans Vogel (scientist)Hans Vogel was a German scientist known for his work in helminthology . For much of his career he was associated with the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg....
demonstrates that macaques can be immunized against Schistosoma japonicumSchistosoma japonicumSchistosoma japonicum is an important parasite and one of the major infectious agents of schistosomiasis.This parasite has a very wide host range, infecting at least 31 species of wild mammals, including 9 carnivores, 16 rodents, one primate , two insectivores and three artiodactyls and therefore...
, the cause of Far Eastern schistosomiasisSchistosomiasisSchistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by several species of trematodes , a parasitic worm of the genus Schistosoma. Snails often act as an intermediary agent for the infectious diseases until a new human host is found...
. - 1961 Dr. Vogel publishes the life cycle of Echinococcus multilocularisEchinococcus multilocularisEchinococcus multilocularis is a cyclophyllid tapeworm that, along with some other members of the Echinococcus genus , produces the disease known as echinococcosis in certain terrestrial mammals, including wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, domestic dogs and humans. Unlike E. granulosus, E...
. - 1968 Dr. Mueller identifies the Marburg virus in electronmicroscopy
- 1985 In a joint project with American scientists, Paul Racz and Klara Tenner-Racz exhibit that in patients infected with HIV, massive viral replication takes place in the lymph nodeLymph nodeA lymph node is a small ball or an oval-shaped organ of the immune system, distributed widely throughout the body including the armpit and stomach/gut and linked by lymphatic vessels. Lymph nodes are garrisons of B, T, and other immune cells. Lymph nodes are found all through the body, and act as...
s. - 2003 BNI virologists identify the SARS virus as a Coronavirus
Today the institute continues its research and treatment of tropical diseases, including dangerous diseases such as Lassa fever
Lassa fever
Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever caused by the Lassa virus and first described in 1969 in the town of Lassa, in Borno State, Nigeria, in the Yedseram river valley at the south end of Lake Chad. Clinical cases of the disease had been known for over a decade but had not been connected...
, Marburg virus
Marburg virus
Marburg virus disease is the name for the human disease caused by any of the two marburgviruses Marburg virus and Ravn virus...
, Ebola fever and leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by protozoan parasites that belong to the genus Leishmania and is transmitted by the bite of certain species of sand fly...
.
See also
- Travel medicineTravel medicineTravel medicine or emporiatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention and management of health problems of international travelers.-Globalization and travel:...
- Liverpool School of Tropical MedicineLiverpool School of Tropical MedicineThe Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is a research and teaching institution focused on neglected tropical diseases and the control of diseases caused by poverty. It is a registered charity affiliated to the University of Liverpool...
- Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical MedicinePrince Leopold Institute of Tropical MedicineThe Institute of Tropical Medicine , previously known as Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine is located in Antwerp, Belgium. The ITM is one of the world's leading institutes for training and research in tropical medicine and the organisation of health care in developing countries...
, (BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) - Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and HygieneRoyal Society of Tropical Medicine and HygieneThe Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President is generally acknowledged as the father of tropical medicine. He passed the presidency on to the Nobel laureate Sir Ronald Ross ,...