Albertus Dominicus Marcellinus Erasmus "Ab" Osterhaus (born 2 June 1948) is a leading Dutch
virologist
Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...
and
influenza expert. An Emeritus Professor of Virology at
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus University Rotterdam (abbreviated as ''EUR'', nl, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam ) is a public research university located in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The university is named after Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus, a 15th-century humani ...
since 1993, Osterhaus is known throughout the world for his work on
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
and
H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 (A/H5N1) is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species. A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type ...
, the pathogen that causes
avian influenza
Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. .
Life
Osterhaus was born into a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
family of seven and grew up in Slotermeer,
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. From 1967 onwards he studied
veterinary medicine
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...
at
Utrecht University
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
and graduated ''
cum laude'' in 1974. He received his
PhD
He fulfilled several positions in his 16-year career at the
(RIVM) in
Bilthoven
Bilthoven is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of De Bilt. It has a railway station with connections to Utrecht, Amersfoort and Baarn. It is home to the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health a ...
, the last of which was head of the laboratory for
Immunobiology
Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...
. During that period he was also a
part-time Professor of Environmental Virology at the Institute for Virology in Utrecht, a position he still holds as of 2009. In 1993, he became Professor of Virology at the Medical Faculty of University and also head of the Department of Virology at
Erasmus University Medical Centre Rotterdam. In 2013, he stepped down from his position as head of the department of Viroscience, as the Virology department is now known, and handed over the reins to Professor
Marion Koopmans
Maria Petronella Gerarda Koopmans (born 21 September 1956) is a Dutch virologist who is Head of the Erasmus MC Department of Viroscience. Her research considers emerging infectious diseases, noroviruses and veterinary medicine. In 2018 she was aw ...
, formerly attached to the Dutch National Institute of Health, the RIVM. Osterhaus did not rest and set up a new institute looking at the zoonotic side of virology at
TiHo in Hannover, Germany. He also holds a position at Artemis BV in Utrecht.
Osterhaus played an important role in the identification of the
SARS coronavirus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1; or Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV) is a strain of coronavirus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the respiratory illness responsible for th ...
. In February 2004, his team found that ''Pegylated interferon alpha'', a drug used for the treatment of patients with
Hepatitis C, helps combat the virus that causes
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''seve ...
.
Osterhaus holds various editorial positions for scientific journals, holds several patents, has been supervisor of more than 40 PhD students and has identified more than a dozen “new” viral pathogens
and he is author of more than 1000 scientific papers, including journals like ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...
'', ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
'' and ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
''.
Osterhaus served as member and chairman of many international scientific committees, most notably four WHO reference centres, the Dutch Influenza Centre, the
Dutch Health Council
The Health Council of the Netherlands or the Dutch Health Council ( nl, Gezondheidsraad) is an independent Dutch scientific advisory body with the task of advising the government and parliament about matters in the areas of public health
Pub ...
and the European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI).
Honours and awards
Osterhaus received several awards in his life, including the Dutch "
M.W. Beijerinck Virology Award", a prize awarded
triennially (before 2014, and now awarded biennially) by the
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998. He is also a Member of Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) since 2001.
On 15 October 2003 Osterhaus was knighted as
Commander in the Order of the Dutch Lion.
Other awards Osterhaus received include the Dutch "Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg Prijs" for pharmacotherapy, the "Reinier de Graaf Medaille" for clinical medicine, and on 13 June 2007 he was awarded the French "
Grand Prix scientifique de la Fondation Louis D." of the
Institut de France
The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
. He shared the €450,000 prize money with
National Institute for Medical Research
The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC);
In 2016, the NIMR b ...
professor
Sir John Skehel from London. In 2016 he became a member of the
German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founde ...
.
Criticism
Osterhaus has been criticised for what has been described as a 'fear campaign', for exaggerating the consequences of the
2009 flu pandemic
The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...
and pushing for extensive measures, even though the pandemic influenza (H1N1) is now treated as if it were a common
flu
Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
. Physician and microbiologist Miquel Ekkelenkamp called Osterhaus a 'scaremonger' in an opinion piece in ''
nrc.next'' and said: "'Expert' Osterhaus should be banned indefinitely from television. Everything he claimed turned out to be untrue: we're not all going to die like we did in 1918, not everyone needs a vaccination, we are not going to give
Tamiflu
Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complications or are at hi ...
to everyone and the virus has not mutated into something much more dangerous."
Osterhaus claimed he has not exaggerated the risks. During debate 'De Kwestie live' he said "I have named a wide spectrum of possibilities and minister Ab Klink decided to go for the worst-case scenario"
In September 2009, a controversy arose when it became known Osterhaus has a 9.8% share in ViroClinics B.V, a pharmaceutical company that supposedly benefits from the 34 million vaccines
Health minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services.
Some governments have separate ministers for mental health.
Coun ...
Ab Klink bought based on his advice as government consultant. Osterhaus maintains he did nothing against the law and that he does not personally benefit from the order.
References
External links
Personal home page at Erasmus Medical Centre*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterhaus, Ab
1948 births
Living people
Influenza researchers
Male veterinarians
Dutch virologists
Scientists from Amsterdam
World Health Organization officials
2002–2004 SARS outbreak
Academic staff of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Academic staff of Utrecht University
Utrecht University alumni
Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Commanders of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
Dutch veterinarians
Dutch officials of the United Nations
Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina