The role of Froilano De Mello as a pioneer microbiologist in Asia and relevance of his work for tropical countries in view of the bioethical issues created by current COVID19 pandemic management

Abstract

This paper in bioethical dimension of tropical disease management, attempts to present the importance of understanding the origin, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality of various tropical Zoonotic diseases in former Portuguese colony of Goa, India. Methodology involved extensive information from available publications from Goa and Portugal on basis of which this paper reviews especially the relatively unrecognised pioneer role played by the Goan microbiologist Froilano De Mello in the first half of the 20th century in promoting systematic research and pathological and epidemiological investigations for effective control and ethical management of certain tropical zoonotic diseases. Microbiologist De Mello migrated to Brazil in the 1950s and worked in the laboratory of the celebrated Brazilian parasitologist Samuel Pessoa at the University of Sao Paulo. But his work done till then in Goa under the Portuguese rule in understanding tropical zoonotic diseases and their ethical management remains useful in management of modern pandemics like the current SARS COV2 pandemic based on certain well established epidemiological principles identified by De Mello in first half of the 20th century. The paper would try to focus on De Mello's work to fill an important knowledge gap in understanding the history of tropical Zoonotic disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics in the tropics with special reference to the relevance of his work to tropical countries. These results would be presented.