Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Haffkine Institute

View;-Darbar hall and library, Haffkin Institute
Haffkine Institute was established on 10, January, 1899 by Dr. Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine a Russian scientist who discovered the plague vaccine. It is one of the oldest institutes of its kind in India. It is located in Parel in Mumbai. On the 10th of August 1899, the present mansion, which was at one time the residence of the Governor of Bombay, was formally handed over to Dr. W M Haffkine by the Governor Lord Sandhurst.

This present building in which Dr. Haffkine worked has an interesting story. It is supposed to have been built on the site of an old temple of Parli Vaijnath, which gave the name Parel to the adjoining village. On this site the Jesuits built a Monastery and the Chapel sometime between 1596-1693. The exact date is not known, but the present premise of Haffkine Institute was known as Romish Chapel of Jesuits and was in existence in 1673. The Chapel had extensive grounds of its own almost resembling a park with big spreading trees growing all over. From the estates in Bombay, Jesuits maintained a Mission in Agra and Japan, even when Bombay had passed into the hands of the British because according to the Treaty of 1665, the Portuguese were not to be interfered with in their religious order. In the year 1719, the British confiscated all Jesuit properties after a Maratha invasion, on the plea that the Jesuits had allowed the Marathas to mount their guns aimed at the British from one of their properties at Bandra.The building, thereafter, became the residence of Registrars of Bombay until the demolition of the Fort. The Governors of Bombay used to live in Parel after leaving the Fort. The building was then known as Government House. This area was then considered to be a very aristocratic locality. In 1885, the Governors left this residence and the premises were used as House of Recorders of the Bombay Presidency. In 1895, King Edward VII visited India as Prince of Wales, and stayed on the premises for a week. On such a historical premises Dr.Haffkine entered on 10th August 1899. At that time it was designated as "Plague Research Laboratory" with Dr. W M Haffkine as its Director in Chief. In 1906 the Institute was renamed as "Bombay Bacteriology Laboratory". Finally, in 1925, due to the efforts of Lt. Col. F.P. Mackie, the Institute was aptly named as "Haffkine Institute". By the time Dr. Haffkine left India in 1904, the Institute had developed the technology for the production of plague and cholera vaccines. The Institute advanced continuously, inheriting the spirit of challenge of the founder Director Dr. Haffkine. New disciplines were pursued and newer departments were established.
In 1975, the institute which is now owned by the Government of Maharashtra, India was split into 2 organizations focusing on research and vaccine production. The Haffkine Institute continues its works in research, testing and training field whereas the Haffkine Bio-pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd. was involved in manufacturing of different types of medicinal drugs and vaccines.
The current research areas include studies of infections occurring in AIDS patients, improvement in the FMD vaccine, surveillance and microbiological analysis of typhoid, prevalence of drug resistance in bacteria and continuous development of newer chemotherapeutic agents to combat microbial and zoonotic infections. The Institute also serves as a premier teaching institution in the field of biomedical sciences and is affiliated to the University of Bombay for M.Sc (Microbiology, Applied Biology & Organic Chemistry), Ph.D. (Microbiology) and M.D (P.S.M.) degree programs. In addition, the Institute undertakes specialized testing assignments/projects for pharmaceutical and other health-related products.
The Institute was honoured by the government with the "Charak Award" for the remarkable research work in Medical Science.
Now. it is understood that the state Government is contemplating to close this world famous Institute.

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