THE LEGACY OF HERMANN SCHATZMAYR

Abstract

Dr. Hermann Schatzmayr, born in 1936, was graduated in Veterinary Medicine from the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) in 1957. From 1957 through 1958 he was a trainee in microbiology,and served in the sta of Prof. Paulo de Goes at the Department of Microbiology of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). In 1961 Dr. Schatzmayr received training at the Institute of Hygiene, in Vienna, Austria. In Vienna, he worked on arboviruses, including tick-borne encephalitis virus. In 1961 he joined the staff at Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ), where he and Dr. Joaquim Travassos da Rosa created a laboratory for the study of polio. In that laboratory he isolated poliovirus, studied outbreaks of poliomyelitis, and prepared an imported Sabin vaccine for distribution by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. In 1966 Dr. Schatzmayr received his Ph.D. from the Universities of Giessen and Freiburg, Germany, working on poliovirus, supported by a Humboldt Foundation scholarship. In 1967, he created a Virology Laboratory at the Escola Nacional de Saude Publica (National School of Public Health, ENSP) to study poliomyelitis, hepatitis and rubella. Working for the Ministry of Health he was responsible for the production of smallpox vaccine in embryonated eggs. From 1967 through 1977 while at FIOCRUZ he conducted a number of studies, with emphasis on enteroviruses and hepatitis B. In 1975, to obtain the title of Docent from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), he presented a thesis dealing with virus pollution of the Santos Bay area,which pioneered the eld of environmental virology in Brazil. In 1977 he created the Virology Laboratories of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, at FIOCRUZ. Starting in 1982, he participated on many International Committees of PAHO and WHO, attending meetings worldwide to help creating eradication programs for smallpox, polio and measles. One of his greatest engagements was on the successful eradication programs for smallpox in Brazil and worldwide. Dr. Schatzmayr spearheaded the creation of laboratories for the diagnosis of dengue in FIOCRUZ and throughout Brazil, participated in successful initiatives to control poliomyelitis in Brazil, and found time to provide technical advice on virus diagnosis and on the evaluation of viral vaccines to many virologists and public health officials. As a man of many accomplishments, he used to say that “as a researcher, I have worked on public health, trying to contribute to the solution of practical problems”. Dr. Schatzmayr was a founder, a first president of the Brazilian Society for Virology (SBV), and for many years was the Chief Editor of the SBV’s journal ‘Virus Reviews and Research’. He was an Editorial Board member of the journals “Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz” and “Vaccine (London)”. He was recipient of a long term Level 1 Research Productivity Scholarship from the Brazilian Research Council (CNPq). Dr. Schatzmayr published over 200 papers in peer reviewed journals and mentored dozens of graduate students. He received the Merit Awardas Honorary Fellow from the National Merit Brazilian Society of Public Health and Hygiene, and an award from the Brazilian Society of Clinical Pathology. Due to his outstanding work, Dr. Schatzmayr became a member of the Brazilian Academy of Veterinary Medicine, and Brazilian Academy of Sciences. Deceased in 2010, Dr.Schatzmayr was one of the most distinguished Brazilian virologists and his presence will be missed.