In 2023, it will be 150 years since Gerhard Armauer Hansen discovered the leprosy bacillus. On Tuesday, February 28, the University of Bergen invites you to celebrate the medical breakthrough that changed the way people looked at disease and infection.
Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen is «without comparison the most famous Norwegian doctor of all time» (Norsk biografisk leksikon). His greatest achievement was the discovery of the leprosy bacillus, M. leprae, first observed on February 28, 1873.
The discovery represented a medical paradigm shift when it showed for the first time that a bacterium is the cause of chronic disease. It also represented an epidemiological breakthrough with consequences for preventive medicine and health legislation in Norway, and globally. Armauer Hansen's research represented a Nobel Prize-winning effort, and the disease is referred to in many countries as «Hansen's disease».
Many of the issues Armauer Hansen discussed are still relevant, such as the relationship between the freedom of the individual and the collective's right to protection in the face of infectious disease. 150 years after its discovery, leprosy is still a public health problem in several countries.
The 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Leprosy bacillus will be marked with several events during 2023. On the anniversary on February 28, UiB invites you to an anniversary celebration in the University Auditorium. Participants include UiB Rector Margareth Hagen, Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol, leprosy ambassador Yohei Sasakawa from the World Health Organization and others.
There will also be a webcast for an international audience from 13:00, in collaboration between the University of Bergen and the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) Initiative. Click here for more information and to register for the webcast.
Click here to see the full program for the anniversary celebration: https://www.uib.no/ledelsen/156433/jubileumsmarkering-150-%C3%A5r-siden-oppdagelsen-av-leprabasillen
The event is free and open to all. Sign up here: https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=13457555
