Jean-Marie Camille Guérin (; 22 December 18729 June 1961) was a French

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology— a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and immunologist who, together with Albert Calmette, developed the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG), a

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

for

immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the antigen, immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ' ...

against

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Biography

Camille Guérin was born in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

to a family of modest means. His father died of tuberculosis in 1882 (as well as his wife, in 1918). He studied veterinary medicine at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort from 1892 to 1896, working, while a student, as an assistant to

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Edmond Nocard (1850–1903). In 1897, he joined the

Institut Pasteur de Lille The Pasteur Institute of Lille () is a research centre and member of the Pasteur Institute network. It includes 14 research units and 1,150 employees including 626 researchers located in Lille, France. There are also 300 employees located outside ...

(

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) and started to work with its director, French

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

, bacteriologist and immunologist Albert Calmette (1863–1933). He started as a technician in charge of preparing Calmette's serum (

antivenom Antivenom, also known as antivenin, venom antiserum, and antivenom immunoglobulin, is a specific treatment for envenomation. It is composed of antibodies and used to treat certain venomous bites and stings. Antivenoms are recommended only if ...

against

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

bites) and the vaccine against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

. He considerably improved the production techniques of the latter by using

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s as intermediate hosts and developed a method to quantify the remaining virulence of these vaccines. At Lille, he was promoted to Head of Laboratory in 1900. Thereafter, from 1905 to 1915, and from 1918 to 1928 he devoted himself to the research on a vaccine against tuberculosis, in close association with Calmette, until Calmette's death in 1933. He discovered in 1905 that the bovine tuberculosis bacillum, the ''

Mycobacterium bovis ''Mycobacterium bovis'' is a slow-growing (16- to 20-hour generation time) Aerobic organism, aerobic bacterium and the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle (known as bovine TB). It is related to ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'', the bacterium ...

'', could immunize the animals without causing the disease. Henceforth, he and Calmette developed ways of attenuate the pathogenic activity of Mycobacterium, using successive transferrals of culture. In 1908, after successfully obtaining an immunologically active preparation that could be used to produce a vaccine, he published with Calmette the results of what was named the BCG. In 1919 he was promoted again, this time to Head of Services. Finally, in 1921, after 230 passages of the BCG culture, they obtained an effective vaccine that could be used in humans. In 1928 he moved to Paris to become the director of the Tuberculosis Service at the Pasteur Institute. In 1939 he became vice-president of the "Comité National de Défense contre la Tuberculose" (''National Defense Committee against Tuberculosis''). In 1948 Guérin was chairman of the First International Congress on BCG. He was also President of the Veterinary Academy of France (1949), and President of the Academy of Medicine (1951). In 1955, the French Academy of Sciences awarded him the Scientific Grand Prix. He died aged 88, in the Hôpital Pasteur in Paris.

References

* * * * * *

External links

Jean Marie Camille Guérin
WhoNamedIt site.

Pasteur Institute, Paris (In French). {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Camille 1872 births 1961 deaths People from Poitiers Scientists from Lille Vaccinologists French veterinarians Academic staff of the University of Lille Nord de France French bacteriologists