Dr. Sait Bilal Golem (1899–1955): Veterinarian and pioneer researcher of public health in Albania and Turkey

Abstract

Sait Bilal Golem is an Albanian veterinarian who graduated from the Military Veterinary School in 1920. Golem started his doctorate in microbiology at Alfort Veterinary School. In this process, he worked as an assistant to the world-renowned French microbiologist Dr Gaston Ramon at the Pasteur Institute. After his doctorate, he returned to Albania and established the Veterinary Affairs Organization and made significant contributions to its structuring in international standards. Dr Golem returned to Türkiye in 1926 and started working at the Central Institute of Hygiene. Dr Golem, together with physicians and veterinarians at this institute, diagnosed brucellosis in animals and humans with serological methods for the first time in Türkiye. Moreover, he isolated Newcastle virus from embryonated eggs for the first time and prepared Komarov type attenuated dry vaccine against this virus for the first time in Türkiye. He conducted the first research on the diagnosis of Q fever and prepared the first intradermal BCG vaccine in Türkiye. Through his studies for both public and animal health in Türkiye, he has contributed to the One Health concept with an understanding that transcends time.