Dr Dilip Mahalanabis | 19 Oct 2022

Dr Dilip Mahalanabis, who pioneered Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) treatment as a simple, effective remedy for dehydration has passed away.

ORS, a combination of water, glucose, and salts, is a simple and cost-effective method of preventing dehydration.
It is an alternative to intravenous rehydration therapy for preventing and treating dehydration from diarrhea when intravenous therapy is not available or feasible.
Oral rehydration therapy is calculated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to have saved the lives of over 60 million persons.

Born on 12^th November, 1934 in West Bengal, Dr Mahalanabis studied in Kolkata and London, and joined the Johns Hopkins University International Centre for Medical Research and Training in Kolkata in the 1960s, where he carried out research in oral rehydration therapy.
Dr Mahalanabis was working in overflowing refugee camps during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war when he came up with ORS.
From 1975 to 1979, Dr Mahalanabis worked in cholera control for WHO in Afghanistan, Egypt and Yemen.
In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, he was a medical officer in the Diarrheal Disease Control Programme of the WHO.
In 1994, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
In 2002, Dr. Mahalanabis was awarded the first Pollin Prize in Pediatric Research for their contributions to the discovery and implementation of oral rehydration therapy.
In 2006, he was awarded the Prince Mahidol Prize, for his role in the development and application of oral rehydration therapy.