Natteri Veeraraghavan (1913-2004) was an Indian physician,

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and medical researcher, known for his contributions to the understanding of diseases like

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 ...

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 ...

and

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. He was a former director of the Pasteur Institute of India,

Coonoor Coonoor (), is a taluk and a municipal town of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494. The town sits at the south-east corner of the Nilgiri plateau, and at the head of the Coonoo ...

and the chairman of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

International Reference Center on Rabies. He was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1967, with the award of

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his contributions to the society.

Biography

Natteri Veeraraghavan was born in

Parangipettai Parangipettai ( ), historically called Porto Novo ("New Port" in Portuguese language, Portuguese), is a coastal panchayat town in Cuddalore district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. Parangipettai is located o ...

, in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

district in the south Indian state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

on 1 November 1913 to Natteri Venkatesa Iyer and Balambal. His graduated in medicine (MBBChir) from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

in 1936 and did his senior internship at the Government Mental Hospital, Chennai in 1937. His career started as a research officer at the Pasteur Institute of India at

in 1937 and became the assistant director of the institute in 1941. While working in that position, he secured a doctoral degree (DSc) in microbiology from

in 1944. In 1947, Veeraraghavan was made the director of the institute, a post he held till his retirement in 1972. Post retirement, he served as the director of the Vector Control Research Center,

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

, from 1975 to 1977 and as the director of the Voluntary Health Services Medical Centre from 1977. He was a member of the

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

from 1945 to 1981 and sat on the Expert Panel of the

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 ...

in 1953, 1956, 1959, 1965 and 1972. He was the vice chairman of the panel in 1953 and the chairman in 1959. He also served as a member of the Indian chapter of the World Health Organization Influenza Center from 1959 to 1972 and the Armed Forces Research Committee from 1967 to 1972. One of the founding members of the Indian Academy of Medical Sciences, (present day National Academy of Medical Sciences), Veeraraghavan was known to have involved in extensive research in microbiology. He held many patents for his research and his research findings have been documented by way of several publications. Some of his notable publications are: * Studies on Leprosy * Studies on Leprosy: Supplement 3 * In Vitro Cultivation of M. Leprae: An Improved Medium * Fluorescent antibody staining of rabies virus antigens using lissamine rhodamine B200 as fluorochrome * The value of 5% semple vaccine in human treatment : comparative mortality among the treated and untreated * A rapid method for cultivation of M. tuberculosis : an improved medium Veeraraghavan, a recipient of the Societe Anonyme Poonawalla Memorial Award, was honoured by the

with the civilian award of

in 1967. He died at the age of 90 on 6 August 2004, survived by his wife, Kamala, daughter Shantha, and sons, Dr. N.V. Chandran and Dr. Mani Veeraraghavan.

Biography

References

Further reading