Gerhard henrik armauer hansen biography of christopher

Norwegian physician (1841–1912)

Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen (Norwegian pronunciation:[ˈɡæ̂rhɑɖɑrˈmæ̀ʉərˈhɑ̂nsn̩]; 29 July 1841 – 12 February 1912) was a Norwegian physician, remembered for his identification of the bacteriumMycobacterium leprae in 1873 as the causative agent of leprosy.^[1][2] His distinguished work was recognized at the International Leprosy Congress held at Bergen in 1909.^[3]

Life

Hansen was born in Bergen, Norway, and attended the Bergen Cathedral School.

He worked at Rikshospitalet in Christiania (now Oslo) and as a doctor in Lofoten. In 1868 Hansen returned to Bergen to study leprosy while working at Lungegård Hospital (Lungegårdshospitalet) with Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, a noted expert.^[4]

Leprosy was regarded as largely hereditary or otherwise miasmic in origin.

Hansen concluded on the basis of epidemiological studies that leprosy was a specific disease with a specific