Rodolfo Robles (1878–1939) was a Guatemalan

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and philanthropist. In 1915, he was the first to describe onchocerciasis in Latin America, which was known and widespread on the African continent and first described in 1890 by Sir

Patrick Manson Sir Patrick Manson (3 October 1844 – 9 April 1922) was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology, and was a founder of the field of tropical medicine. He graduated from University of Aberdeen with degrees in Master ...

.Who named it
/ref> Robles was the first person to describe the etiology of the disease, correctly attributing it to infection with ''

Onchocerca volvulus ''Onchocerca volvulus'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that causes onchocerciasis (river blindness), and is the second-leading cause of blindness due to infection worldwide after trachoma. It is one of the 20 neglected tr ...

'' parasites''.'' He discerned the etiology from clinical observations among coffee plantation workers in Guatemala, extracting the parasitic worm from a nodule on a child's face. The disease was later referred to as "Roble's disease" in his honor. In the 1930s, Robles also played a role in establishing the first public health campaigns to address onchocerciasis in the Central Endemic Zone of Guatemala, which involved sending teams to endemic areas to provide surgical services and perform nodulectomies.

Biography

Rodolfo Robles was born in

Quetzaltenango Quetzaltenango (, also known by its Maya name Xelajú or Xela ) is both the seat of the namesake Department and municipality, in Guatemala. The city is located in a mountain valley at an elevation of above sea level at its lowest part. It m ...

, Guatemala. As a young man, he was sent to school in the United States, returning to complete high school at the Instituto Nacional para Varones de Occidente (INVO) in 1894. He completed pre-university studies at Rouen, in France, before studying medicine in Paris and earning his degree from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

in 1904. He performed research at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines ...

in Paris, where he obtained the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur (French: "National Order of the Legion of Honour") in the degree of ''Grand Officier'' (Grand Officer). Robles married Julia Isabel Herrera Dorión in 1914, and had one child, Rodolfo Robles Herrera, born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in 1928. He served as a professor in the Faculty of Medical Sciences for many years.

Honors & Tributes

Robles has been honored in Guatemala and

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

with many schools and hospitals named in his honor, including a hospital in his hometown of Quetzaltenango as well as a hospital focused on eye and ear health in Guatemala City. In 1955, the Order of Rodolfo Robles was established as award to recognize physicians for outstanding service in the field of public health. A statue of his likeness can be found outside the old Faculty of Medical Sciences at the

Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala The Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC, ''University of San Carlos of Guatemala'') is the largest and oldest university of Guatemala; it is also the fourth founded in the Americas. Established in the Kingdom of Guatemala during the Spani ...

. A bridge over the Suchiate River, which forms the border between the Mexican state of Chiapas and the Guatemalan department of

San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...

, has been named Puente Rodolfo Robles in his honor.

References

1878 births 1939 deaths University of Paris alumni People from Quetzaltenango Guatemalan physicians Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Guatemalan philanthropists {{Guatemala-bio-stub Epidemiologists

Biography

Honors & Tributes

See also

References