Stanislaus von Prowazek

Stanislaus Josef Mathias von Prowazek, Edler von Lanow (12 November, 1875 Jindřichův Hradec

Jindrichuv Hradec

Jindřichův Hradec is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has approximately 22,700 inhabitants.- History :The first written mention of the town is in 1220. Before that, it was probably a Slavic settlement. At the end of the 12th century more people arrived...

, Bohemia - 17 February, 1915, Cottbus

Cottbus

Cottbus is a city in Brandenburg, Germany, situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree. As of , its population was .- History :...

), born Stanislav Provázek, was a Czech zoologist and parasitologist

Parasitology

Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question, but by their way of life...

, who along with pathologist Henrique da Rocha Lima

Henrique da Rocha Lima

Henrique da Rocha Lima was a Brazilian physician, pathologist and infectologist. He discovered Rickettsia prowazekii, the pathogen of epidemic typhus. Rickettsia prowazekii was named after German zoologist Stanislaus von Prowazek.Henrique da Rocha Lima received his M.D. degree from the Medical...

 discovered the pathogen

Pathogen

A pathogen gignomai "I give birth to") or infectious agent — colloquially, a germ — is a microbe or microorganism such as a virus, bacterium, prion, or fungus that causes disease in its animal or plant host...

 of epidemic typhus.

Prowazek had studied epidemic typhus in Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

 (1913) and Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

 (1914). Later, while Prowazek and Rocha Lima were working in a German prison hospital, they both became infected with typhus. Prowazek died soon after on February 17, 1915. Rocha Lima named the infectious agent of epidemic typhus- Rickettsia prowazekii

Rickettsia prowazekii

Rickettsia prowazekii is a species of gram negative, Alpha Proteobacteria, obligate intracellular parasitic, aerobic bacteria that is the etiologic agent of epidemic typhus, transmitted in the feces of lice. In North America, the main reservoir for R. prowazekii is the flying squirrel. R...

after his colleague.

Bibliography:

• Einführung in die Physiologie der Einzelligen (1910)
• Zur Kenntnis der Giemsafärbung vom Standpunkt der Zytologie. - 1914. digital (in german)
• Handbuch der pathogenen Protozoen (1912)

Source:

• Who Named It? (Henrique da Rocha Lima}