Hobart Reimann
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Hobart Ansteth Reimann (1897–1986) was an American
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 physician. Reimann made contributions to medicine with his 1938 landmark article on atypical
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
(the "first description of virus pneumonia"); and articles on periodic disease and the common cold (1948). He was active in the testing of
streptomycin Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, ''Burkholderia'' infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. F ...
against typhoid, with "the first publicly reported successful experiments." From 1935 through 1962, he wrote The Journal of the American Medical Association's annual review of ''Significant Publications in the Field of Infectious Diseases,'' providing the AMA's synopsis of progress in the field. Post 1962, he continued this work in the ''Archives of Internal Medicine'' and the ''British Postgraduate Medical Journal'' through to 1975, "40 consecutive Annual Reviews." Post WWII, he was one of the early voices to speak against the overuse of and misuse of antibiotics, and he testified before the
US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...
on this subject in the early 1960s.


Life and career


Early career

On completing his training at the University of Buffalo Medical School, Reimann worked as first as resident and then as chief house physician at the Buffalo General Hospital. A stint as assistant physician at the Rockefeller Institute followed, working on the transformation of the pneumococcus from a rough strain to smooth and back again, under the direction of pioneering immunochemist
Oswald Avery Oswald Theodore Avery Jr. (October 21, 1877 – February 20, 1955) was a Canadian-American physician and medical researcher. The major part of his career was spent at the Rockefeller Hospital in New York City. Avery was one of the first molecula ...
. He spent a year at the Anton Ghon institute in Prague, as a specialist in infectious diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tuberculous. After came two years in China as associate professor of medicine at the Beijing Union Medical College. He then returned to the United States, where the Great Depression was manifesting, taking a position at the University of Minnesota as associate professor of medicine. While at Minnesota, he wrote the first edition of his textbook, which became the four-volume series ''Treatment in General Medicine''. He was offered the Magee Professorship and the position of chairman of the Department of Medicine, at the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.Hodges, Dr. John, ''Department of Medicine,''
Clinical Departments and Divisions, Thomas Jefferson University Jefferson Digital Commons, (1989), JOHN H. HODGES, M.D.


Viral Pneumonia Viral pneumonia is a pneumonia caused by a virus. Pneumonia is an infection that causes inflammation in one or both of the lungs. The pulmonary alveoli fill with fluid or pus making it difficult to breathe. Pneumonia can be caused by bacteria, vir ...
and Periodic Diseases (1936-51)

Reimann's interest in microorganisms developed further at Jefferson. "In a medical environment where empirical treatment and measures of dubious value were still common, Reimann insisted upon an etiological diagnosis whenever possible." He continued his work on the typing of the pneumococcus, establishing the practice of routine typing in patient cases where symptomatic pneumonia was displayed. This led to the publication of ''An Acute Infection of the Respiratory Tract with Atypical Pneumonia: a disease entity probably caused by a filtrable virus.'' (JAMA, 1938), an article of medical landmark status, being the first to describe viral, as opposed to bacterial, pneumonia. In 1945, he was involved in trials of streptomycin in the Philadelphia area, and was part of the trio of doctors who reported on its potential efficacy against paratyphoid fever. In 1948, Reimann published ''Periodic disease; a probable syndrome including periodic fever, benign paroxysmal peritonitis, cyclic neutropenia and intermittent arthralgia.'' This was one of the earliest accounts of periodic disease and fevers, later variously categorized as
Periodic fever syndrome Periodic fever syndromes are a set of disorders characterized by recurrent episodes of systemic and organ-specific inflammation. Unlike autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, in which the disease is caused by abnormalities of ...
and Reimann syndrome (the latter of which, with Siegal-Cattan-Mamou disease, has been renamed as
Familial Mediterranean fever Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary inflammatory disorder. FMF is an autoinflammatory disease caused by mutations in Mediterranean fever gene, which encodes a 781–amino acid protein called pyrin. While all ethnic groups are sus ...
). When Reimann came on to the staff at Jefferson, the medical staff consisted of 32 members. He expanded the department of medicine and began its residency program. At the time of Reimann's resignation, there were 89 staff members, ten residents, and three fellows.


Overseas appointments

From 1951, Reimann took on a decade of international appointments. He spent four years at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon as visiting professor of medicine. In return for his work for the nation, both in training medical staff and his ongoing work on infectious diseases, he was awarded the Order of the Cedar. A short interlude at the University of Indonesia, Djakarta, followed (funded by the UCLA Medicine in Indonesia project). Then came three years in Shiraz, Iran (then Persia) at Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's behest, where he established a medical curriculum at the Shiraz Medical School patterned after the American model.


Hahnemann Medical College

Reimann returned to the US as professor of medicine at Hahnemann Medical College in 1960, where he continued his research pursuits. He became involved in the movement against the over-prescription and misuse of antibiotics. In 1963, following publication on the same topic in the AMA, he was called before the US Senate to testify on antibiotic misuse. Reimann's conclusion was that most misuse was the result of bad doctoring, against which he believed there was little that could be effected. "Physicians often resent criticism and do not like to be told what not to do." Reimann's 1967 assignment in Saigon, Vietnam was funded by the AMA and
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
. They wanted him to reorganize the medical school at the University of Saigon. Events of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
intervened.


Later years and legacy

Reimann also did artwork. His "Pretzel Vendor" pastel featured as the JAMA cover in 1972. He spent his final years traveling as guest lecturer. He died in 1986, from a fall followed by pneumonia. His legacy is his students and the more than 300 papers he published as diagnostic achievements during the period of medical work in that preceded the age of cellular and computational study.


Honors and awards

*
Charles V. Chapin Charles Value Chapin (January 17, 1856 – January 31, 1941) was an American pioneer in public health research and practice during the Progressive Era. He was superintendent of health for Providence, Rhode Island between 1884 and 1932. He es ...
Medal of the Rhode Island Medical Society *Citation for Distinguished Service in Medical Education, University of Buffalo * Order of the Cedar, Lebanon *Shaffrey Award, Medical Alumni of St. Joseph's College (University) *Hahnemann Corporation Medals for Distinguished Service


Career postings


Selected publications

*''An Acute Infection of the Respiratory Tract with Atypical Pneumonia: a disease entity probably caused by a filtrable virus.'' JAMA, 1938. *''Periodic Disease: a probable syndrome including periodic fever, benign paroxysmal peritonitis, cyclic neutropenia and intermittent arthralgia,'' JAMA, 1948. *''Periodic Disease: periodic fever, periodic abdominalgia, cyclic neutropenia, intermittent arthralgia, angioneurotic edema, anaphylactoid purpura and periodic paralysis.'' JAMA, 1949. *''Infectious Diseases: Annual Review of Significant Publications,'' JAMA, 1935–1962. *''Infectious & Parasitic Diseases of the Intestine: Discussions in patient management.'' Medical Examination Pub. Co., 1977. *''Acute Respiratory Tract Diseases: prevention & treatment.'' Medcom Press, 1975. *''Infectious Diseases: fortieth and final annual review of significant publications.'' Postgraduate Medical Journal, 1975. *
NCBI The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The ...
Landmark article Dec 24,1938: ''An acute infection of the respiratory tract with atypical pneumonia. A disease entity probably caused by a filtrable virus.'' National Center for Biotechnology Information, 1984.Landmark article Dec 24,1938: Reimann, Hobart A., ''An acute infection of the respiratory tract with atypical pneumonia. A disease entity probably caused by a filtrable virus.''
National Center for Biotechnology Information, 1984. DOI:10.1001/jama.1938.02790520033007


Books

* Hobart A. Reimann, MD, ''The Pneumonias.'' Saunders & Co, 1938; ''The Pneumonias.'' Charles Thomas Co., 1953 * Hobart A. Reimann, MD, ''Treatment in General Medicine,'' 4 vols., multiple editions; 1939 (1st Edition), 1941 (2nd Edition), 1943 (Progress Volume), 1946 (Progress Volume), 1948 (4th Edition), 1949 (Progress Volume), 1952 (Progress Volume) * Hobart A. Reimann, MD, ''Periodic Diseases,'' F.A. Davis Co, 1963


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reimann, Hobart 1897 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American physicians American epidemiologists American virologists American medical researchers Physicians from Buffalo, New York Writers from Buffalo, New York University at Buffalo alumni