was a Japanese virologist, best known for inventing the first

chickenpox vaccine Varicella vaccine, also known as chickenpox vaccine, is a vaccine that protects against chickenpox. One dose of vaccine prevents 95% of moderate disease and 100% of severe disease. Two doses of vaccine are more effective than one. If given to ...

. He developed the "Oka" vaccine by producing v-Oka, a live-attenuated virus strain of varicella zoster virus.

Life

Born at

Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka is one of 24 wards of Osaka, Japan. Points of interest *Nagai Park ** Nagai Botanical Garden **Nagai Stadium **Yanmar Field Nagai **Yodoko Sakura Stadium Shopping * Komagawa Shopping Arcade (駒川商店街) Headquarters * Sangaria Train stat ...

, Japan, on February 17, 1928, Takahashi earned his MD in 1954 from

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

's Medical School, and completed in 1959 the Graduate Course of Medical Science, majoring in poxvirus virology. Between 1963 and 1965 he studied at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, and at the Fels Research Institute of Temple University, in Philadelphia. The experience of watching his eldest son, Teruyuki, suffer from chickenpox while studying in the U.S. led him to begin development of a chickenpox vaccine in 1971. The research was extremely difficult, but was completed in 1973. In 1984, the vaccine was certified by the WHO as the most suitable chickenpox vaccine, and in 1986, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare approved it for practical use in countries around the world. Takahashi became the director of Osaka University's Microbial Disease Study Group in 1994. After retirement from Osaka University, he was given the title professor emeritus. He died on December 16, 2013, from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

Awards

* Saburo Kojima Memorial Culture Award (1975) *VZVRF's third Scientific Achievement Award (1997) * Prince Mahidol Award (2008)

Legacy

The Japanese Society for Vaccinology presents an annual prize named in Takahashi's honor: ''The Japanese Society for Vaccinology Takahashi Prize'', founded in October 2005. On 17 February 2022, Takahashi was honoured with a Google Doodle on his 94th birthday.

References

External links

First Person: ‘I created the vaccine for chickenpox’
1928 births 2013 deaths Japanese virologists 20th-century Japanese scientists 21st-century Japanese scientists Vaccinologists Osaka University alumni Baylor College of Medicine alumni Temple University alumni Academic staff of Osaka University People from Osaka People from Osaka Prefecture {{Japan-med-bio-stub