Adolfo Lutz

Adolfo Lutz was a renowned Brazilian physician of Swiss background, university professor, scientist and pioneer in the fields of tropical medicine and zoology. He is remembered for his extensive research on infectious diseases and public health issues in Brazil and other countries. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1855, son of Swiss immigrants. He studied medicine in Switzerland, graduating in 1879 at the University of Bern. After graduation, he went to study experimental medicine techniques in various European centers, such as London, Leipzig, Vienna, Prague and Paris. He returned to Brazil in 1881 and worked as a general clinician in Limeira, São Paulo, for six years. Wishing to pursue medical research, he returned to Hamburg, Germany, where he worked with Paul Gerson Unna, specializing in infectious diseases and tropical medicine. He was invited to the post of director of the Kalihi Hospital in Hawaii, where he carried out research on leprosy. He also worked for a while in California, United States, before returning to Brazil in 1892, attending an invitation from the government of São Paulo to direct the Bacteriological Institute (later renamed in his honor to Instituto Adolfo Lutz, still in existence today in São Paulo. He was one of the founders of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, where he worked with other famous Brazilian researchers, such as Oswaldo Cruz, Carlos Chagas and Vital Brazil, in the areas of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases. Lutz studied various diseases, such as yellow fever, plague, cholera, malaria, leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, filariasis, and others, identifying their causative agents, vectors, reservoirs, and modes of transmission. He also developed vaccines and serums for some of these diseases. He was a pioneer in studying the fauna and flora of Brazil, especially insects, amphibians, reptiles, and plants, describing many new species and genera. He was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and published over 600 scientific papers. He received many awards and honors for his contributions to medicine and science, such as the Order of Scientific Merit and the National Order of the Southern Cross. He died of cancer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the age of 84.