Gu Fangzhou (; June 1926 – 2 January 2019) was a Chinese

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 ...

, best known for developing domestic OPV (

oral polio vaccine Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends all child ...

) and eradicating

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

in the country.

Early life

Gu matriculated at Peking University for a MBBS degree in 1944. He went to the Soviet Union to study virology from 1951 to 1955. He was engaged in poliovirus from 1957. Gu conducted the trials and production of the polio vaccine, especially "sugar cube". He succeeded in developing first domestic inactivated polio vaccine in 1960, and trivalent oral polio vaccine later. He served as president of

Peking Union Medical College Peking Union Medical College (), founded in 1906, is a selective public medical college based in Dongcheng, Beijing, China. It is a Chinese Ministry of Education Double First Class University Plan university. The school is tied to the Peking Un ...

from 1984 to 1993. He was also the first president of the Chinese Society for Immunology. On 2 January 2019, Gu died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, at the age of 92.

References

1926 births 2019 deaths Chinese virologists Peking University alumni Academic staff of Peking Union Medical College TWAS fellows Polio Biologists from Shanghai Educators from Shanghai People of the Republic of China {{China-scientist-stub