Wilhelm Burgdorfer (June 27, 1925 – November 17, 2014) was an American scientist born and educated in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
, Switzerland, considered an international leader in the field of
medical entomology
The discipline of medical entomology, or public health entomology, and also ''veterinary entomology'' is focused upon insects and arthropods that impact human health. Veterinary entomology is included in this category, because many animal disease ...
. He discovered the
bacterial
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...
pathogen that causes
Lyme disease
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...
, a
spirochete
A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or s ...
named ''
Borrelia burgdorferi
''Borrelia burgdorferi'' is a bacterial species of the spirochete class in the genus ''Borrelia'', and is one of the causative agents of Lyme disease in humans. Along with a few similar genospecies, some of which also cause Lyme disease, it make ...
'' in his honor.
Background
He was born on June 27, 1925, in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS), ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
[Memorial page.]
''Daly Leach Memorial Chapel.'' Burgdorfer earned his Ph.D. in
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and dis ...
,
parasitology
Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. As a biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in question but by their way of life. This means it f ...
, and
bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...
from the
University of Basel and the
Swiss Tropical Institute in Basel.
[Lucy Bauer: ''The Great Willy Burgdorfer, 1925–2014'', I am Intramural Blog, NIH Intramural Research Program, https://irp.nih.gov/blog/post/2015/02/the-great-willy-burgdorfer-1925-2014, posted Monday, February 2, 2015, last accessed 21 July 2019.]
As a research subject for his thesis he chose to study the development of the African
relapsing fever
Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus ''Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks (genus ''Ornithodoros'').
Signs and symptoms
Most people who are ...
spirochete, ''
Borrelia duttonii'', in its tick vector ''
Ornithodoros moubata'', and to evaluate this tick's efficiency in transmitting
spirochetes
A spirochaete () or spirochete is a member of the phylum Spirochaetota (), (synonym Spirochaetes) which contains distinctive diderm (double-membrane) gram-negative bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or s ...
during feeding on animal hosts.
During his college years he was a member of a research team investigating outbreaks of
Q fever
Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with '' Coxiella burnetii'', a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, includin ...
in various parts of Switzerland and became interested in similar research activities carried out at the
Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) in
Hamilton, Montana
Hamilton is a city that serves as the county seat of Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 4,659 at the 2020 census.
History
Hamilton was founded by copper king Marcus Daly in the late 19th century. It was named for J.W. ...
, a U.S.
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1 ...
research facility. He joined the
RML in 1952 as a research fellow, and later became a research associate in the
USPHS's Visiting Scientist Program. In 1957, he became a
U.S. citizen
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...
and shortly thereafter joined the
RML staff as a
medical entomologist.
Career
Burgdorfer's research concerned the interactions between
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...
and
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...
agents and their transmitting
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, o ...
vectors, particularly
ticks
Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...
,
fleas
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
and
mosquitoes
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...
. His research contributions are published in more than 225 papers and books, and cover a wide field of investigations including those on relapsing fevers,
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
,
tularemia
Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat infe ...
,
Colorado tick fever
Colorado tick fever (CTF) is a viral infection ( Coltivirus) transmitted from the bite of an infected Rocky Mountain wood tick ('' Dermacentor andersoni''). It should not be confused with the bacterial tick-borne infection, Rocky Mountain spotted ...
,
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a bacterial disease spread by ticks. It typically begins with a fever and headache, which is followed a few days later with the development of a rash. The rash is generally made up of small spots of bleedin ...
and other bacterial and
viral diseases.
Burgdorfer gained worldwide recognition for his 1982 discovery of a tick-borne spirochete as the long-sought cause of Lyme disease and related disorders in the U.S. and Europe.
[ The agent was named after him — ''Borrelia burgdorferi''.
Throughout his career, Burgdorfer participated in a number of ]World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
(WHO) and other health organization-sponsored seminars and congresses.
From 1967 to 1972, he served as associate member on the Rickettsia
''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "ricket ...
l Commission of the Armed Forces Epidemiology Board. For several years (1968–1971) he was also Co-Project Officer of the PL 480-sponsored Research Project on Rickettsial Zoonoses in Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
and adjacent areas, and from 1979 to 1986, he directed the WHO-sponsored Reference Center for Rickettsial Diseases at RML in Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colum ...
, U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
Burgdorfer was critical of the path Lyme disease research had taken over the past 30 years. He believed ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' was a persistent infection, and that the current serological testing methodologies needed to be "started over from scratch, with people who don't know beforehand the results of their research."
Personal life
Burgdorfer was married to Gertrude "Dale" See Burgdorfer until she died in 2005. He later married Lois Rohr; she survived him at the time of his death. He died from complications of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms beco ...
on November 17, 2014, at a hospital in Hamilton, Montana.
Later life
Although retiring in 1986, Burgdorfer continued his association with the Rocky Mountain Laboratories' Laboratory of Human Bacterial Pathogenesis as scientist emeritus. He was also active on the Scientific/Medical Advisory Committee of th
Lyme Disease Foundation
In 1999, he delivered the keynote address at the 12th International Conference on Lyme Disease
Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a vector-borne disease caused by the ''Borrelia'' bacterium, which is spread by ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. The most common sign of infection is an expanding red rash, known as erythema migran ...
and Other Spirochetal and Tick-Borne Disorder
Honors
* Schaudinn-Hoffman Plaque (1985, German Society of Dermatologists)
* Robert Koch Gold Medal (1988 Berlin, Germany)
* Bristol Award (1989, Infectious Diseases Society of America)
* Walter Reed Medal (1990, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)
* Doctor Medicina Honoris Causa (1986, University of Bern, Switzerland; 1991, University of Marseille, France)
* Honorary Degrees of Science (1990, Montana State University; 1994, Ohio State University).
Selected publications
*Burgdorfer, W. Analyse des Infektionsverlaufes bei ''Ornithodoros moubata'' (Murray) unter Berücksichtigung der natürlichen Übertragung von ''Spirochaeta duttoni''. ''Acta Trop.'' 8:193-262, 1951.
*Burgdorfer, W. and Ekland C. M. Studies on the ecology of Colorado tick fever virus in western Montana. ''Amer. J. Hyg.' 69:127-137, 1959.
*Burgdorfer, W. Evaluation of the fluorescent antibody technique for the detection of Rocky Mountain spotted fever rickettsiae in various tissues. ''Path. Microbiol.'' (Switzerland) 24 (Suppl.) 27–39, 1961.
*Burgdorfer, W. Hemolymph test. A technique for detection of rickettsiae in ticks, ''Amer. J. Trop. Med.'' 19:1010-1014, 1970.
*Burgdorfer, W., Barbour, A. G., Hayes, S. F., Benach, J. L., Grunwaldt E., and Davis, J. P. Lyme disease — a tick-borne spirochetosis? ''Science'' 216:1317-1319, 1982.
*Burgdorfer, W. Discovery of the Lyme disease spirochete and its relation to tick vectors. ''Yale J. Biol. Med.'' 57:518-520, 1984.
*Burgdorfer, W. How the discovery of ''Borrelia burgdorferi'' came about. ''Clin. Dermatol.'' 11:335-338, 1993.
*Burgdorfer, W. Arthropod-Borne Spirochetoses. A Historical Perspective, Editorial, ''Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol.'' Infect. Dis. 201: 1–5, 2001.
See also
* Lyme Disease, Lyme disease
* Lyme disease controversy
* Lyme disease microbiology
* Jorge Benach
* Allen Steere
References
*
External links
Lyme Disease Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgdorfer, Willy
1925 births
2014 deaths
Lyme disease researchers
American medical researchers
People from Hamilton, Montana
Neurological disease deaths in Montana
Deaths from Parkinson's disease
University of Basel alumni
Swiss emigrants to the United States