Description

On February 17, 2022, Google Doodle will mark the 94th birthday of Japanese virologist Dr Michiaki Takahashi. Takahashi created the world's first chickenpox vaccine.

Tatsuro Kiuchi, a guest artist from Japan, created the Google Doodle. Takahashi is seen in the Google Doodle at work, using a microscope for research and applying a band-aid to a child's arm.

Michiaki Takahashi was born on February 17, 1928, in Osaka, Japan.  He earned his medical degree from Osaka University. In 1959, he was offered a position as a researcher at Osaka University's Research Institute for Microbial Disease. At the institute, he researched polioviruses and measles. In 1963, he was awarded a research fellowship at Baylor College in the United States. While he was away, his son acquired a severe case of chickenpox. When Takahashi returned to Japan in 1965, he applied his experience to effectively combating the highly transmissible and contagious sickness. In early 1974, he created the world's first chickenpox vaccine, dubbed "Oka." Over the years, the life-saving vaccine has been used in over 80 nations and provided to millions of children worldwide.  Takahashi was named director of Osaka University's Microbial Disease Study Group in 1994.  He served in that capacity until his retirement. He died on December 16, 2013, in Osaka, Japan, after a heart attack.

First chickenpox vaccine in the world

Michiaki Takahashi created the world's first chickenpox vaccine by culturing live but attenuated chickenpox viruses in animal and human tissue. The vaccine was ready for clinical testing after only five years of research.

Takahashi created the first vaccination against the varicella virus, which causes chickenpox. The vaccine has been submitted to extensive testing and has been shown to be exceptionally effective.

As the only varicella vaccine approved by the World Health Organization, the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases began rolling out the vaccine in 1986.

Every year, the vaccination helps to prevent millions of cases of chickenpox.

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