Azar Andami (, December 1926 – August 1984) was an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

noted for her development of a

cholera vaccine A cholera vaccine is a vaccine that is effective at reducing the risk of contracting cholera. The recommended cholera vaccines are administered orally to elicit local immune responses in the gut, where the intestinal cells produce antibodies ...

Early life and career

Azar Andami was born in 1926 in Saghrisazan neighborhood of

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

. She was the fourth child and the only daughter of the family. She finished elementary school in Rasht women's primary school with one year of academic leap. After graduating from the ninth year of general education at Forough High School in Rasht, her father, despite being an intellectual, prevented her from continuing her education and sent her to the Rasht Preparatory University. she graduated from Daneshsara in 1946; In 1947, she was hired by the Ministry of Culture and became a teacher. In 1951, while working, she received a natural science diploma with various exams. In 1953, she participated in the entrance exam of the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (UT) or Tehran University (, ) is a public collegiate university in Iran, and the oldest and most prominent Iranian university located in Tehran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as ...

in the field of medicine of this university; where she attended and then graduated in 1958 as a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

. At first, she specialised in

gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences) is the area of medicine concerned with conditions affecting the female reproductive system. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, which focuses on pre ...

. She moved to 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 ...

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, and then later to

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 ...

to study bacteriology. Dr. Azar Andami published several scholarly papers and invented a vaccine against cholera, a

bacterial disease Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and many are beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of th ...

primarily caused by drinking contaminated water.

Development of EL Tor vaccine

From 1934 to 1967, a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

-like disease (

El Tor El Tor is a particular strain of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae'', the causative agent of cholera. Also known as ''V. cholerae'' biotype eltor, it has been the dominant strain in the seventh global cholera pandemic. It is distinguished from t ...

) spread in Iran and many other countries. El Tor is an acute diarrheal disease caused by the cholera bacterium. The symptoms of the disease originate from a toxin that is infected by germs in the small intestine of people. Therefore, germs are spread through human feces in the environment and contaminate water and food. In those circumstances, the only way to protect from infection with the toxin was through use of a cholera vaccine. At the time, the only vaccine preparation center in Iran was the Pasteur Institute in Iran. Andami developed an effective vaccine for El Tor which was produced by the Pasteur Institute for use in protecting Iranians and then converted to mass production for use in neighboring countries.

Death and legacy

She died in Tehran on 19 August 1984 at the age of 57. A crater, named "Andami", on the planet

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

was named in her honour by the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

Notes

References

* Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani
Iranian Women’s Equality Calendar
* :fa:آذر اندامی {{DEFAULTSORT:Andami, Azar Bacteriologists Iranian microbiologists Vaccinologists 1926 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Iranian physicians Iranian expatriates in France 20th-century Iranian scientists 20th-century Iranian women scientists 20th-century Iranian women physicians

Early life and career

Development of EL Tor vaccine

Death and legacy

See also

Notes

References