Adrien Loir (15 December 1862 – 1941) was a French
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 ...
born in
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. He was a nephew of
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...
, and for much of his career was associated with the
Pasteur Institute
The Pasteur Institute (, ) 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 for anthrax and rabies. Th ...
.
From 1882 to 1888 Loir was an assistant in Pasteur's laboratory in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he performed research of
swine fever. In 1886, he installed the first anti-
rabies
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...
clinic in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Between 1888 and 1893 he made two journeys to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
to conduct research of
anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
and
pleuropneumonia
Pleuropneumonia is inflammation of the lungs and pleura, pleurisy
Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp ...
. While there, he investigated the use of
chicken cholera bacillus
''Bacillus'', from Latin "bacillus", meaning "little staff, wand", is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum ''Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-sh ...
in an attempt to eradicate the country's
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 ...
infestation.
In 1893 he founded the Pasteur Institute of
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, and for several years was a professor of
hygiene
Hygiene is a set of practices performed to preserve health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
and
bacteriology
Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...
at the colonial school in
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
. In 1906 he traveled to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, where he demonstrated that the equine disease,
dourine is caused by the parasite ''
trypanosoma equiperdum''.
Written works
* ''Notes on the large death rate among Australian sheep, in country infected with Cumberland Disease, or splenic fever'', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 1891.
* ''Notes on a spontaneous disease among Australian rabbits'', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 1891.
* ''L'Institut pasteur d'Australie'',
La Nature
''La Nature'' (English: ''Nature'') was a French language magazine aimed at the popularization of science established in 1873 by French scientist and adventurer Gaston Tissandier. The magazine also received an enormous amount of time, effort, ...
9 July 1892 and 30 July 1892.
* ''Chez les aborigènes australiens'', La Nature 23 June 1893 and 5 July 1893.
* ''Les lapins en Australie'', La Nature 19 August 1893.
* ''Histoire des épidémies de peste à Tunis''. Revue scientifique 4ème série - Tome XIII 29 March 1900.
* ''La destruction des termites dans les pays tropicaux'', La Nature 11 July 1903.
* ''Nouveau procédé de désinfection des bateaux : L'appareil clayton'', La Nature 5 September 1903.
* ''La main-d'œuvre dans les mines d'or du sud de l'Afrique : La bière des cafres'', La Nature 24 October 1903.
* ''Le chemin de fer du Cap au Caire'', La Nature 28 November 1903.
* ''Le chat. Son utilité. La destruction des rats'', éd. Ballière, 1930.
* ''À l’ombre de Pasteur'', éd. Le mouvement sanitaire, 1938.
References
Pasteur Institute International NetworkAdrien Loir
* List of publications copied from the
French Wikipedia
The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...
.
French bacteriologists
1862 births
1941 deaths
Scientists from Lyon
Louis Pasteur
{{France-biologist-stub