Brian Oliver Lyndhurst Duke

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

M.D., ScD (24 June 1926 in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

– 3 June 2006) was an expert in tropical diseases who extensively studied

River Blindness Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

and other parasitic diseases. His work helped to develop an anti parasitic drug to combat them.

Career

Duke attended

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

and later

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, in all he attained an MD, MA, ScD, MB, BChir and a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

Tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

. He joined the Colonial Medical Service in 1953 and was dispatched to the

Cameroons British Cameroons or British Cameroon was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Nigeri ...

where he started to do in-depth studies of the dynamics of River Blindness. He also conducted research into the parasitical infections

Loa loa ''Loa loa'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that causes Loa loa filariasis, ''Loa loa'' filariasis. ''Loa loa'' actually means "worm worm", but is commonly known as the "eye worm", as it localizes to the conjunctiva of the e ...

and

Schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

. He wrote 172 medical papers and his research set new standards in methodology for all future clinical trials. In 1975 Duke joined

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

as head of

Filariasis Filariasis is a filarial infection caused by parasitic nematodes (roundworms) spread by different vectors. They are included in the list of neglected tropical diseases. The most common type is lymphatic filariasis caused by three species o ...

infectious unit, his earlier research enabling the clinical trials of

Ivermectin Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice ...

to go smoothly. This anti-parasitic drug proved very effective against River Blindness and other diseases caused by parasitic worms. Duke is also credited with pressuring Merck to supply Invermectin free to all sufferers of River Blindness, which led to the creation of the Mectizan Donation Programme. To date more than half a billion doses have been given away.

Honours and retirement

In 1961 Duke was appointed an OBE, followed by a CBE in 1975.
In 1991 Duke retired from WHO and became the medical director of the River Blindness Foundation until 1996. He was a distinguished scientist at the

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) (1862 – September 15, 2011) was a U.S. government institution concerned with diagnostic consultation, education, and research in the medical specialty of pathology. Overview It was founded in ...

( AFIP) where he developed invaluable teaching materials on Helminithic Diseases. He worked closely with

Aileen Marty Aileen Maria Marty is physician, scientist, an infectious disease expert, clinical and anatomical pathologist, and a Distinguished University Professor at the FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Early life and education Born in Havana, C ...

in developing various infectious disease conferences and in identifying unusual effects caused in the female

Onchocerca Onchocerca is a genus of parasitic roundworm. It contains one human parasite – '' Onchocerca volvulus'' – which is responsible for the neglected disease Onchocerciasis, also known as "river blindness" because the infected humans tend to l ...

by Ivermectin.Duke BO, Marty AM, Peett DL, Gardo J, Pion SD, Kamgno J, Boussinesq M. Neoplastic change in Onchocerca volvulus and its relation to ivermectin treatment. Parasitology. 2002 Nov;125(Pt 5):431-44.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke, Brian 1926 births 2006 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People from Kampala British expatriates in Uganda British expatriates in Cameroon Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Colonial Medical Service officers