Bezredka, Aleksandr Mikhailovich

Bezredka, Aleksandr Mikhailovich 

Born Mar. 27 (Apr. 8), 1870; died Feb. 28, 1940. Russian microbiologist, pupil of I.I. Mechnikov.

In 1892, Bezredka graduated from the nature division of the physics and mathematics department of the University of Novorossiia in Odessa. From 1897 he worked in Mechnikov’s laboratory at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and from 1916 was assistant director of that institute.

The theory of “local immunity” proposed by Bezredka was subjected to serious criticism for his attempt to isolate the phenomenon of immunity from the protective reactions of the total organism. However, the method of local immunization discovered by Bezredka found application for preventive treatment in a number of infections: vaccination by mouth, according to Bezredka’s method, against typhoid fever, dysentery, and cholera and vaccination through the skin against streptococcal and staphylococcal infections. Bezredka’s experimental studies of anaphylaxis led him to the elaboration of a method for preventing anaphylactic shock in serum treatment. While living abroad, Bezredka maintained close ties with Russian science; many Russian scientists worked under his guidance.

WORKS

Mestnaia immunizatsiia. Paris, 1926. (Translated from French.)
“O znachenii razdrazhitelei ν infektsii i immunitete.” Zhurnal eksperimental’noi biologii i meditsiny, 1927, no. 18.
Anafilaksiia i antianafilaksiia. Moscow, 1930. (Translated from French.)