A ceremony was held in the central
province of Khanh Hoa in Mar. 1 to commemorate the 67 th death
anniversary of Alexandre Yersin, a French scientist, who spent almost
50 years of his life working in the province.
Alexandre Yersin was a physician and bacteriologist. Along with
Shibasaburo Kitasato he is remembered as the co-discoverer of the
bacillus responsible for the bubonic plague or pest, which was later
re-named in his honour (Yersinia pestis).
Yersin was the founder of the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute and the
veterinary sector of Vietnam and was one of the founders of the first
medical school in Vietnam and Indochina . He was also the person who
introduced rubber trees and Cinchona ledgeriana, a medicinal tree, to
Vietnam .
Khanh Hoa has set up a Yersin Fans Association and named a local junior high school and a laboratory after him in his memory.
The association has almost 1,000 members after 16 years of operation.
They engage in humanitarian activities to help the poor and
disadvantaged people in mountainous and isolated areas./.