United States-U.S.S.R. medical exchange missions, 1956 : microbiology and epidemiology.

  • United States Public Health Service
Date:
1957]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: United States-U.S.S.R. medical exchange missions, 1956 : microbiology and epidemiology. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    was called upon to organize a program of exchanges in medicine between’ the United States and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Government had made a re- quest to the United States Department of State for a mission on poliomyelitis to the United States, and the first step in the ex- change program was to devise and super- vise a schedule for this mission. The mis- sion arrived in the United States on January 18 and left on February 25, 1956. The second step was the formulation and accomplishment of a reciprocal mission to the Soviet Union. This mission left the United States on February 25 and completed its tour on March 28, 1956. The third step of the program, as yet in- complete, was the development of a plan for a long-term exchange of information and personnel between the United States and the Soviet Union. At this time, it seems appro- priate to review the results of the first com- pleted exchange mission. To this end, the various reports of the American personnel participating in the missions are combined in this monograph. Dr. Alexis Shelokov of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Al- lergy and Infectious Diseases, National Insti- tutes of Health, Public Health Service, acted as tour conductor and interpreter for the Soviet Poliomyelitis Team when they visited the United States. As part I of this mono- graph, his report covers all aspects of the Russian visit and gives some insight into the impression the Russian scientists made upon their American colleagues. Members of the Soviet team, all represent- ing the Academy of Medical Sciences of the U.S.S.R., were: Professor Mikhail P. Chumakov, director, Poliomyelitis Research Institute, Academy of Medical Sciences, Moscow, formerly director of the Institute of Virology imeni [in the name of] Ivanovsky, Academy of Medi- cal Sciences U.S.S.R. Professor Anatoli A. Smorodintsev, director, department of virusology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Medical Sciences, Leningrad. Dr. Marina K. Voroshilova, senior research worker, Poliomyelitis Research Institute, Academy of Medical Sciences U.S.S.R., Moscow. Dr. Lev I. Lukin, epidemiologist, Poliomyelitis Research Institute, Academy of Medical Sciences U.S.S.R., Moscow. The American Mission on Microbiology and Epidemiology to the Soviet Union con- sisted of the following persons: Colin M. MacLeod, M.D., professor of microbiology, New York University College of Medicine, New York, N. Y., now professor of microbiology, University of Pennsyl- vania, Philadelphia, Pa. Karl F. Meyer, M.D., director, the George W. Hooper Foundation, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, Calif., and professor of experimental pathology, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. John R. Paul, M.D., professor of preventive medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. Richard E. Shope, M.D., member, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York, N. Y. Michael B. Shimkin, M.D., chief, Biometry and Epidemi- ology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, Bethesda, Md. (In 1944, Dr. Shimkin had a similar assignment. A report of this mission was published in Science: 605,637, 1946.) Part II of this monograph is a compilation of reports by the five members of the Ameri- can delegation. Following their return to the United States, by prior arrangement members of the mission prepared individual reports on certain as- pects of the trip. In order to document as much information as possible in this publica- tion and at the same time to avoid unneces- sary repetition, these trip reports have been consolidated into a single chronological ac- count. Meanwhile, a short report by the group was published in the October 13, 1956, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Whatever may be the future fate of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. medical exchanges, the present report should serve to document the con- clusions of the members of the American mission, who state “...it would be arrogant, stupid, and even dangerous for the United States to ignore Soviet medicine and re- search....” and that “appropriate steps be taken to develop channels of communication between the medical scientists of the Soviet Union and the United States.”