Who was Dr Michiaki Takahashi?
MICHIAKI Takahashi was a renowned doctor and virologist who is remembered for his contributions to medicine.
Dr Takahashi is often credited with helping to develop the first vaccine for chickenpox, and Google Doodles honored him on February 17, 2022.
Who was Dr. Michiaki Takahashi?
Hailing from Osaka, Japan, Michiaki Takahashi was born on February 17, 1928.
In 1954, Takahashi graduated with his MD from Osaka University and went on to further his studies in the United States.
Throughout his medical career, the doctor was honored with a number of accolades.
Some of his awards include Japan's Saburo Kojima Memorial Culture Award and the Prince Mahidol Award from Thailand.
Did Dr Takahashi contract chicken pox?
Dr Takahashi was motivated to find a cure for chickenpox after his eldest son contracted the virus from a neighbor.
Recalling his son's suffering to , he said: "His symptoms progressed quickly and severely. His temperature shot up, and he began having trouble breathing."
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Dr Takahashi remembered: "All my wife and I could do was watch him day and night, I realized then that I should use my knowledge of viruses to develop a chickenpox vaccine."
He commenced the development of a chickenpox vaccine in 1971 and finished it in 1973.
Over a decade later, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare approved the vaccine for international usage in 1986.
What was Dr Takahashi's cause of death?
At the age of 85, Dr Takahashi passed away in Japan on December 16, 2013.
The medical maven's cause of death was cardiac arrest.
He was survived by his wife and two children.
Google commemorated the late doctor in 2022 on the search engine's homepage on what would have been his 94th birthday.
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