In Memoriam: 2010

The Union honours the passing of the following members who made significant contributions to tuberculosis and lung health:

 

Dr Masakazu Aoki (Japan)

(1927-2010)

Masakazu Aoki was a driving force within the Japan Anti-tuberculosis Association (JATA) as its President and at the Research Institute of Tuberculosis (RIT) as its Director and Director Emeritus. He became a specialist in TB after working with the poor in devastated areas of Tokyo after World War II. At that time, TB was the most common cause of death in Japan. He did his medical training at Tokyo University and completed a PhD, writing his dissertation on the influence of corticosteroids on TB. He joined RIT in 1954 as a pathologist and became Director in 1987. He was an expert in epidemiology and Japan's national programme underwent important changes towards modern TB control under his leadership. He was a member of the Tuberculosis Surveillance Research Unit and served on The Union Board of Directors from 1985 to 1991. Over 45 years he taught international TB courses to more than 1,000 participants from around the world and published more than 240 papers and 40 books.

 

Prof Wallace Fox, CMG (United Kingdom)

(1920–2010)

Wallace Fox changed the course of TB history in the 1950s when he led a clinical trial in India which demonstrated that treatment at home was as effective as treatment in a sanatorium. This signaled the end of the sanatorium era and changed the lives of millions of TB patients.

 

Fox began his career with the UK's Medical Research Council in 1952, just as the first effective anti-tuberculosis drugs were being introduced. He was involved in early clinical trials that showed resistance to streptomycin could be prevented by combining it with isoniazid or p-Aminosalicylic Acid (PAS). This became the standard regimen used throughout Western Europe for the next 15 years, however, Fox recognised that the high cost of PAS made it unavailable in many poorer countries; he found that Thiacetazone was able to replace it.

 

In 1956, Fox was seconded by the MRC to the World Health Organization to set up and run a research unit for TB drug trials. He selected Madras for the series of ground-breaking studies that revolutionised the treatment of TB. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his extraordinary non-military service in a foreign country. A long-time Union member, Wallace Fox served as chair of the Executive Committee and Council from 1975 to 1978. (UK Guardian)

 

Prof Jorge Alberto Pilheu (Argentina)

(1919–2010)

Prof Jorge Alberto Pilheu of Argentina was a specialist in pneumology and respiratory diseases. He played a critical role in both TB and tobacco control and prevention in Argentina. His constant preoccupation was to create awareness on these two issues and their impact on health and the environment. He was active in The Union for many years and In 1982, he served as Vice President of the XXV Union World Conference on Lung Health, which was held in Buenos Aires. On World TB Day 2009 (24 March 2009), he was awarded the Bronze Badge of the Ministry of Health of the Argentine Republic for "his extensive work and his background in the fight against tuberculosis".

 

Dr NC Sen Gupta (The Philippines)

(1922–2010)

Narayan Chandra Sen Gupta began work with what would become the Singapore Anti-Tuberculosis Association (SATA) in 1948 and was active in early efforts to control TB, including introducing mobile mass radiography in 1955. In 1958 he became Medical Director of SATA and its clinic and between 1950 and 1970, TB dropped from the number one cause of death to number five.

 

Dr Sen Gupta also served on Singapore's Tuberculosis Research Committee and was active in The Union. In 1982 he was elected President and served until 1986, when the Union World Conference on Lung Health was held in Singapore. He worked closely with Executive Director Annik Rouillon and Director of Scientific Activities Karel Styblo during this period, when the principles of the DOTS strategy were being tested, and the first guide for low-income countries on the management of TB – "The Orange Guide" – was published. Dr Sen Gupta was made an Honorary Member of The Union for his many outstanding contributions to TB control.

 

Dr MM Singh (India)

(1928-2010)

Dr MM Singh, whose career in TB and lung health spanned five decades, was a long-time member of The Union, the first president of the South-East Asia Region (SEAR) and represented SEAR on The Union Board of Directors. He served as Medical Superintendent and Senior Consultant for Chest Diseases at Rajan Babu TB Hospital, the largest hospital for treatment, training and research in TB and chest diseases in India. He was also a professor at Delhi University and attached to V.P. Chest Institute and the Maulana Azad Medical College. He also served as Director of the New Delhi TB Centre, Vice President of the Delhi TB Association and Vice Chairman of the TB Association of India. Dr Singh published many papers and received many awards. As editor of the Indian Journal of Tuberculosis, he made a lasting impact and was an important inspiration to his colleagues. (TB Association of India)

 

Dr Abolhassan Zia-Zarifi (Iran)

(1926-2010)

Abolhassan Zia-Zarifi was an Honorary Member of The Union, recognised for his outstanding contributions to TB control, and one of the most important Iranian scientists of the 20th century. In his work he served as a model for maintaining rigorous scientific principles despite difficult field conditions. He was also a politician who supported democracy and development, and who fought for the rights of the Iranian people, especially women, and for human rights in all corners of the world.

 

Zia-Zarifi was a WHO consultant in the Middle East, Asia and Africa and served as Director General of Iran's laboratories from 1975 to 1979. The crowning success of his career was the establishment of Iran's National Reference Laboratories as a centre for epidemiology and national standard setting. His publications ranged from the Bacteriology of TB (1973) and Biosafety Guidelines for Health Care Workers against Viral Hepatitis and AIDS (2001) to Unanswered Questions in Extraordinary Years (autobiography; editor, 1997) and The Story of Life (2006). (Asma El Sony)