- Georges Girard
Georges Girard (
February 4 ,1888 -February 20 ,1985 ) was a Frenchbacteriologist who was born inIsigny-sur-Mer . In 1911 he received his Bachelor's degree, and in 1914 his medical doctorate. From 1917 until 1940 Girard was associated with his work in Madagascar at thePasteur Institute inTananarive , and at the laboratory ofbacteriology at the Hospital ofDiego-Suarez .During his tenure in Madagascar, Girard conducted studies of
typhoid ,tuberculosis ,leprosy and particularlybubonic plague . Since 1898 there had been sporadic outbreaks of the plague in the country, and none of the previously developedvaccines were strong or durable enough to handle the disease. In the early 1930s, Girard and his assistant Jean-Marie Robic developed an anti-plague vaccine known as the EV strain. The EV strain had excellent results against the plague, and inoculation was carried out by Colonial Army medical officers and auxiliaryMalagasy physicians. For decades afterwards this strain has been used worldwide to combat bubonic plague.In 1940 Girard returned to the Pasteur Institute in
Paris and performed research ofpasteurellosis ,tularaemia and thebacillus "Yersinia pseudotuberculosis ".References
* [http://www.asnom.org/en/423_peste.html History of the Plague]
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