Remembering Dr Michiaki Takahashi: Google Honours Virologist Who Invented Vaccine For Chickenpox

The entire world is indebted to a man named Dr Michiaki Takahashi. Hailing from Japan, the virologist's pathbreaking contribution to the world of medicine has saved millions of lives globally. Today being his 94th birth anniversary, people fondly remember Takahashi and his invention, the world's first chickenpox vaccine that has proven effective over the years.

Google honoured him with a Doodle on their search page in light of this. It has illustrated by a Tokyo-based guest artist named Tatsuro Kiuchi. In a conversation with the search engine, Kiuchi had no idea who Dr Takahashi was. However, he hopes to spread the message on the vaccination's importance with his creation. Despite it being about Chickenpox, the statement holds significance as the world is currently fighting COVID-19.

Vaccines 'Change The World'

Dr Michiaki Takahashi was born in Osaka in 1928. He studied medicine and earned the degree from Osaka University, after which he joined the Research Institute of Microbial Diseases in 1959. During this time, Dr Takahashi did a detailed study on diseases like measles, polio and many others. Come 1963; he accepted a research fellowship offer from Baylor College in the United States.

Takahashi was introduced to Chickenpox when his son contracted the deadly virus. Chickenpox is a disease caused by the Varicella-Zoster-Virus. Their main characteristics are blister-like rashes all over the body and other symptoms such as fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc.

In 1965, he returned to Japan to work further on the disease. Using the cell-culture method, he took close to five years to develop the first-ever vaccine for Chickenpox in 1974. Named 'Oka', the product resulted from rigorous and tedious research that bore fruit for several years. The World Health Organisation (WHO) certified it as the most suitable vaccine in 1984. It was only two years later, in 1986 when the Japanese Ministry of Welfare and Health approved its usage globally.

Till today, millions of children have been administered the vaccine. Dr Takahashi's invention has impacted the world. For this reason, Osaka University gave him the 'Professor Emeritus' title. He passed away on December 16, 2013, due to heart failure.

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