Dr. Hedda MILCH (1926 - 2015)

 

She was born in Budapest, in 1926.

She received her medical diploma at the Faculty of General Practitioner for the Budapest University of Medicine in 1950.

She began to work on 1st November 1949 in the OKI where she was an academic fellow first and then a research worker between 1951 and 1959.  From 1959 to 1978, she was the Head of the Laboratory and from 1978 to 31st December 1997, until her retirement, the Head for the independent Phage Department operating within the frame of the Division for Microbiology-Epidemiology. In addition to heading the Department, she was Deputy-Head of Division between 1986 and 1992 and Head of Division between 1992 and 1997. Following her retirement, she helped the work at the Department as a Consultant from 1st January 1998 to 30th June 2004.

She specialized in medical laboratory testing in 1953 and in microbiology in 1959. With her dissertation The epidemiological significance of bacteriophage research, she earned PhD degree in 1967. In 1990 she received D.Sc. degree for her thesis The genotypic and phenotypic characterization of Escherichia coli and the clinical-epidemiological significance of their features.

Initially, she was engaged in the introduction and improvement of the state-of-the-art laboratory methods against the spread of typhoid fever caused by Salmonella Typhi. As in Hungary, due to the more than 10 000 cases that had occurred following the World War II, many healthy carriers remained shedding the bacteria that provided a potential infection source for the transmission of typhoid fever in the post-war years.

Mária Eörsi studied the phage typing method elaborated in England during her two-month study-trip there. She was the second to introduce this method in Europe applying the bacteriophage preparations from England. The identification for the homogeneity or heterogeneity of S. Typhi strains cultured from the hosts or from the sporadic or epidemic cases caused by them could be achieved with the bacteriophage typing.

The Laboratory got into the network operating in many countries worldwide. Fulfilling the requirements of International Reference Centre, the domestic Enteral Phage Typing Reference Centre was established, that has been operating even now using methods updated by the epidemiological conditions. The typing methods were completed by international and also by their own improved typing techniques covering all Salmonella strains having epidemiological significance even currently.

Following Mária Eörsis death, in 1972, the independent Phage Department was established and the prior two-staff unit was amplified by new employees (physicians, biologists, and technicians).

Typing for S. Paratyphi-B and S. Typhimurium was introduced with Vera László G.s contribution already in 1960. Then, Vera László G. developed the identification for phage types of S. Enteritidis and S. Infantis. All these methods provided a possibility for theoretical research in addition to their successful practical application. Gábor Hermans research done with immersed knowledge was given a great international recognition. The incidence of domestic hospital infections and their prevalence with serious outcomes grounded the introduction for the typing of nosocomial pathogens. With the typing for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli causing severe hospital outbreaks in the 1950s, they tried to foster the outbreak control with the detection of epidemiological links of infections. The collaboration with the International Reference Centre (Colindale, United Kingdom) rendered the typing of S. aureus and the establishment of domestic Staphylococcus Phage Typing Reference Centre possible. The typing of E. coli with isolated phages was elaborated and this technique was introduced in several international laboratories reflecting its international recognition.

With the specific Klebsiella phages isolated by them, they could verify the role of this pathogen in serious hospital outbreaks. The international typing method was developed in collaboration with scientists from Poland.

Her participation at the Symposium held in Wernigerode (GDR) in 1958 was essential for the further development providing a basis for the establishment of significant scientific relations. However, she could prove with Professor Helmut Rische that the international techniques can be improved only with getting acquainted with laboratories performing the same duties and research in various countries.

For all these typing tests, the typing for isolates in high number of bacterium species was needed besides the storage of phage preparations required for typing. Therefore, they started the decentralization into the Stations of Public Health and Epidemiology (KÖJÁL) where the available personal and material conditions were satisfactory. Phage Laboratories of KÖJÁL were established in the following Counties: Hajdú-Bihar, Baranya, Csongrád, Fejér, Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok, Komárom-Esztergom, Nógrád, Pest, Somogy, and Vas.  The phage product supply for the network, the technical training and regular control for the staff meant a lot of work but gave a potentiality to work out new, up to date methods. The Laboratories of KÖJÁL and of the County Institutes of ÁNTSZ later applied the handed over methods for several years. Unfortunately, later these Phage Laboratories (except two) were closed out and the majority of epidemiological typing works have to be done again at the OEK Department of Phage Typing and Molecular Epidemiology that has hindered the development work rather than promoted it.  

In addition to the collaboration with the University Institutes of Microbiology and the KÖJÁL/ÁNTSZ Laboratories in the country, the successful relation and the fruitful research and practical work were excellent with the Laboratories of Animal Health (with the Research Group headed by Béla Nagy, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) Member in the MTA Veterinary Research Institute and with the Research Group headed by Sándor Kovács in the Institute for Food Inspection of that time, respectively).

Following the 1960s, the results for genetic bacteria research required the expertise on and application of new genetic-based methods. Following the establishment of the Research Institute of Genetics, Szeged, their participation at the training organized by the Szeged University Institute of Microbiology lead by Lajos Alföldi in 1963 was their first step towards the practical, genetic application of bacterial genetic methods. Using the various enteral and nosocomial bacteria causing outbreaks in the country, they introduced the plasmid isolation for antibiotic resistance.

At the Phage Department new, talented scientists were employed (László Jánosi, István Gadó, Anna Hajnal, István Tóth, Sergey Nikolnikov) at that time, contributing to the internationally acknowledged achievements with their valuable work.

In 1965, with a Max Planck Fellowship she attended Professor Starlingers course on bacterial genetics in Cologne where she learned traditional bacterial genetic methods (conjugation, transduction, transformation, and lysogenic conversion). Returning home from Cologne, she could organize with Director-General Tibor Bakács support courses on genetics in Hungary which provided topics for the research reports in the Institute for several months.

Due to foreign invitations and national grants, respectively, she could visit the laboratories of bacterial genetics in the Institute Pasteur (Paris), in Colindale (London), Copenhagen, Bergen, Maebashi (Japan), Atlanta (USA), and Moscow that reinforced the need for the introduction of molecular techniques.

She gradually developed and introduced the various molecular methods together with her co-workers (László Jánosi, István Gadó, István Tóth, and Judit Pászti) having outstanding expertise.

Following her retirement, she took part in the Departments work as a Consultant. She was gladly satisfied that the young and gifted colleagues (Ivelina Damjanova, Noémi Nógrády, Katalin Glatz, Erika Ungvári, and Timea Erdősi) working at the Department headed by Judit Pászti since 1998 could adapt the most advanced molecular methods suitable for the domestic needs and opportunities.

During the ten years worked with the strict and carelessness not permitting Mária Eörsi, she acquired the responsibility for work for her whole life.

After her more than fifty-year employment in the OKI/OEK, she always emphasized that not only her study-trips both in Hungary and abroad helped her but also her superiors who not only enabled all these but served as an example with their work. She highlighted the Director-Generals András Havas, Tibor Bakács, György Bíró, and Dénes Pápay in the OKI and Ilona Straub and Márta Melles - in the OEK later, and the Deputy Director-Generals János Madár, György Habán, Ottó Rudnai, and István Dömök who all considerably supported the activities at the Department.

Upon their presentation, she received state awards for her scientific activity, the Excellent Physician Award in 1982 and the Gold Cross of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 2004. Her scientific activity was honoured by the Fodor József Medal awarded by the Hungarian Society of Hygienists in 1978, by the Manninger Rezső Medal awarded by the Hungarian Society of Microbiology in 1992, and by the Takátsy Prize awarded by the OEK Scientific Advisory Board in 2003.

Her extremely rich bibliography includes 21 book chapters and 138 scientific publications (of which 50% were published in foreign language).

She has deemed herself lucky to have professional collaboration with excellent colleagues like József Szita, Béla Lányi, Éva Czirók, György Berencsi, and Katalin Solt. As the Head of Division of Microbiology, she established a good collaboration and appreciation for each others work with the heads of seven departments governed by her.

She always emphasized that to achieve all the results during her activity enthusiastic, talented and hard-working staff of technicians was needed in her department that could be established more or less steadfastly during the years. She started the joyful but tiring work of Staphylococcus with Gyuláné Pápai (Rózsika). Her thesis would not be prepared without Györgyné Gyenes (Mariann) and without Zsuzsanna Sponga Kissnés typing.  The testing on the continuously increasing masses of Salmonella and Staphylococci was done by Orbánné (Judit), Zsuzsanna Hunyadi Vargáné and by Hetzmanné (Magdi), Koppányné (Vera), respectively; the methods for E. coli and Klebsiella needing continuous forming was carried out by Melinda Jakab. All of them worked with such a will and conscientiousness that deserve not only thanks but honour too. Thanks are due to Lovassiné (Zsanett) for the administration of her Consultants work.

During her work, she always did believe in the necessity for their activity. This trust was fostered by the mentioned leaders of the Institute, her co-workers, and by János Madár, her husband.

Judit Pászti and Gyula Erdős
(Based on thoughts included in the OEK Yearbook of year 2004)

 

Publications of Dr. Hedda Milch