Kitasato Shibasaburō
Encyclopedia
Baron
was a Japan
ese physician
and bacteriologist
. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague
in Hong Kong
in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin
.
, (present-day Oguni Town
, Kumamoto Prefecture
, Kyūshū
). He was educated at Kumamoto Medical School and Tokyo Imperial University
.
He studied under Dr. Robert Koch
in University of Berlin from 1885 to 1891. In 1889, he was the first person to grow the tetanus
bacillus in pure culture
, and in 1890 cooperated with Emil von Behring
in developing a serum therapy for tetanus using this pure culture. He also worked on antitoxin
s for diphtheria
and anthrax. Kitasato and Behring demonstrated the value of antitoxin in preventing disease by producing a passive immunity
to tetanus in an animal that received graded injections of blood serum from another animal infected with the disease.
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 an outbreak of the bubonic plague
, and identified a bacterium that he concluded was causing the disease. Yersin, working separately found a different organism. Kitasato quickly published his results, but it gradually emerged that Yersin had found the real cause, a bacterium later named Yersinia pestis in his honor.
Four years later, Kitasato and his student Shiga Kiyoshi
were able to isolate and describe the organism that caused dysentery
.
When the Institute for Infectious Diseases was incorporated into Tokyo Imperial University
in 1914, he resigned in protest and founded the Kitasato Institute (the forerunner of Kitasato University
), which he headed for the rest of his life.
In September 1921 Dr. 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.
He 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 1924.
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
was a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and bacteriologist
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the infectious agent of bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1894, almost simultaneously with Alexandre Yersin
Alexandre Yersin
Alexandre Emile Jean Yersin was a Swiss and French physician and bacteriologist. He is remembered as the co-discoverer of the bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague or pest, which was later re-named in his honour .Yersin was born in 1863 in Aubonne, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, to a family...
.
Biography
Kitasato was born in Okuni village, Higo ProvinceHigo Province
Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces....
, (present-day Oguni Town
Oguni, Kumamoto
is a town located in Aso District, Kumamoto, Japan.As of 2003, the town has an estimated population of 8,735 and a density of 63.76 persons per km². The total area is 137.00 km².-Sightseeing:...
, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.- History :Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system...
, Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
). He was educated at Kumamoto Medical School and Tokyo Imperial University
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
.
He studied under Dr. Robert Koch
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch was a German physician. He became famous for isolating Bacillus anthracis , the Tuberculosis bacillus and the Vibrio cholerae and for his development of Koch's postulates....
in University of Berlin from 1885 to 1891. In 1889, he was the first person to grow the tetanus
Tetanus
Tetanus is a medical condition characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibers. The primary symptoms are caused by tetanospasmin, a neurotoxin produced by the Gram-positive, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobic bacterium Clostridium tetani...
bacillus in pure culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, and in 1890 cooperated with Emil von Behring
Emil Adolf von Behring
Emil Adolf von Behring was a German physiologist who received the 1901 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the first one so awarded.-Biography:...
in developing a serum therapy for tetanus using this pure culture. He also worked on antitoxin
Antitoxin
An antitoxin is an antibody with the ability to neutralize a specific toxin. Antitoxins are produced by certain animals, plants, and bacteria. Although they are most effective in neutralizing toxins, they can kill bacteria and other microorganisms. Antitoxins are made within organisms, but can be...
s for diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
and anthrax. Kitasato and Behring demonstrated the value of antitoxin in preventing disease by producing a passive immunity
Passive immunity
Passive immunity is the transfer of active humoral immunity in the form of readymade antibodies, from one individual to another. Passive immunity can occur naturally, when maternal antibodies are transferred to the fetus through the placenta, and can also be induced artificially, when high levels...
to tetanus in an animal that received graded injections of blood serum from another animal infected with the disease.
After returning to Japan in 1891 he founded the Institute for Study of Infectious Diseases with the assistance of Fukuzawa Yukichi
Fukuzawa Yukichi
was a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, entrepreneur and political theorist who founded Keio University. His ideas about government and social institutions made a lasting impression on a rapidly changing Japan during the Meiji Era...
. One of his early assistants was August von Wassermann
August von Wassermann
August Paul von Wassermann was a German bacteriologist.Born in Bamberg, he studied at several universities throughout Germany, and in 1890 began to work under Robert Koch at the Institute for Infectious Diseases at the Charité in Berlin...
. Kitasato demonstrated how dead cultures can be used in vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
. He also studied the mode of infection in tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
He traveled to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1894 at the request of the Japanese government during an outbreak of the bubonic plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
, and identified a bacterium that he concluded was causing the disease. Yersin, working separately found a different organism. Kitasato quickly published his results, but it gradually emerged that Yersin had found the real cause, a bacterium later named Yersinia pestis in his honor.
Four years later, Kitasato and his student Shiga Kiyoshi
Kiyoshi Shiga
was a Japanese physician and bacteriologist.-Biography:Shiga was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, though his original family name was Satō. He graduated from the Medical School of Tokyo Imperial University in 1896 and went to work at the Institute for the Study of Infectious Diseases under Dr....
were able to isolate and describe the organism that caused dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
.
When the Institute for Infectious Diseases was incorporated into Tokyo Imperial University
University of Tokyo
, abbreviated as , is a major research university located in Tokyo, Japan. The University has 10 faculties with a total of around 30,000 students, 2,100 of whom are foreign. Its five campuses are in Hongō, Komaba, Kashiwa, Shirokane and Nakano. It is considered to be the most prestigious university...
in 1914, he resigned in protest and founded the Kitasato Institute (the forerunner of Kitasato University
Kitasato University
is one of the famous private university in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.The head of the university is located in the Shirokane Campus, neighboring the Kitasato Institute. Its major educational facilities are located in the Sagamihara Campus, located 60 kilometers west of central Tokyo...
), which he headed for the rest of his life.
In September 1921 Dr. 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
Terumo
was founded in 1921 by Dr. Kitasato Shibasaburō. The company's first product was thermometers and it has since expanded into a global largest medical devices manufacturer, producing a wide variety of products ranging from medical disposables, cardiovascular systems and diabetes care products.In...
Corporation.
He also was the first dean of Medicine at Keio University
Keio University
,abbreviated as Keio or Keidai , is a Japanese university located in Minato, Tokyo. It is known as the oldest institute of higher education in Japan. Founder Fukuzawa Yukichi originally established it as a school for Western studies in 1858 in Edo . It has eleven campuses in Tokyo and Kanagawa...
, first president of the Japan Medical Association, and served on the House of Peers
House of Peers (Japan)
The ' was the upper house of the Imperial Diet as mandated under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan ....
. He was ennobled with the title of danshaku (baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
) in the kazoku
Kazoku
The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan that existed between 1869 and 1947.-Origins:Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the ancient court nobility of Kyoto regained some of its lost status...
peerage system in 1924.