Google Doodle celebrates chickenpox vaccine inventor Michiaki Takahashi’s birthday

Internet tech giant Google on Thursday celebrated Japanese virologist Dr Michiaki Takahashi’s 94th birth anniversary with a doodle. Dr Takahashi was the first to developed the vaccine against chickenpox.

The Google Doodle, illustrated by Japanese artist Tatsuro Kiuchi, shows Takahashi at work – using a microscope for his study and putting a band-aid on a child’s arm.

Since being developed, Takahashi’s vaccine has since been administered to millions of children around the world as an effective measure to prevent severe cases of the contagious viral disease and its transmission.

Michiaki Takahashi was born on this day in 1928 in Osaka, Japan. He earned his medical degree from Osaka University and joined the Research Institute for Microbial Disease, Osaka University in 1959. After studying measles and polio viruses, Dr Takahashi accepted a research fellowship in 1963 at Baylor College in the United States.

While Takahashi was away, his son caught chickenpox. This led him to focus on combatting infectious diseases.

The virologist returned to Japan in 1965. He began his studies by culturing weakened chickenpox viruses in human and animal tissue.

In 1974, Takahashi developed the first vaccine to target the varicella virus – the virus that causes chickenpox. After rigorous research involving immunocompromised patients, the vaccine proved to be highly effective.

After the vaccine was approved by the World Health Organization, the Research Foundation for Microbial Diseases began rolling it out in 1986.

Dr Takahashi’s lifesaving vaccine was soon utilized in over 80 countries. In 1994, he was appointed the director of Osaka University’s Microbial Disease Study Group – a position he held until his retirement. Thanks to his innovations, millions of cases of chickenpox are prevented each year.

Dr Takahashi died in Osaka in 2013.