Waldemar Haffkine

Waldemar Haffkine developed the first plague vaccine in 1897, during the outbreak of the Bubonic plague in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His work is a significant milestone in the history of immunology and public health. Here's a detailed overview of his achievement:

Background: The Plague Outbreak in India:

• In 1896, a major outbreak of bubonic plague (caused by Yersinia pestis) began in Bombay

• The British colonial authorities were desperate for a solution, as the death toll was rising rapidly

• Haffkine, who had earlier developed a cholera vaccine (1892), offered to help

Who Was Waldemar Haffkine?:

• Born in Odessa (now Ukraine) in 1860, Haffkine was a Jewish microbiologist

• He studied under Louis Pasteur and Ilya Mechnikov in Paris

• In 1893, he was invited to India to test his cholera vaccine and later turned his attention to plague

Development of the Plague Vaccine:

• Haffkine developed the plague vaccine at the Government Laboratory in Bombay (which would later be renamed the Haffkine Institute in his honor)

• The vaccine was a killed (inactivated) whole-cell vaccine:

  • It used heat-killed Yersinia pestis bacteria

  • The bacteria were cultured, killed with heat, and suspended in a solution

First Human Trial:

• On January 10, 1897, Haffkine tested the vaccine on himself to prove its safety

• This bold move earned him trust and credibility among local communities and British officials

• Soon after, mass vaccination campaigns began

Impact and Effectiveness:

• The vaccine reduced plague mortality by 50–85% in vaccinated groups

• Between 1897 and 1925, over 26 million doses were administered in India

• It was one of the first mass vaccination programs in human history