Hans Moritsch

Hans Moritsch (born July 26, 1924 in Vienna ; † November 12, 1965 there ) was an Austrian physician and microbiologist . He was one of the discoverers of the "tick disease" pathogen in early summer meningoencephalitis (TBE).

Hans Moritsch was the son of the surgeon and university professor Paul Moritsch . After military service, he began studying medicine at the University of Vienna in 1945 , which he completed with a doctorate in 1949 . He stayed at the university and was initially a lecturer in hygiene and microbiology, and in 1959 a full university professor and director of the Hygiene Institute.

Moritsch explained the development of serous early summer meningoencephalitis due to the TBE virus. In the fall of 1965 he became infected with the virus in the laboratory and died a few weeks later. His honorary grave is located at the Mauer cemetery (group 46, row 10, number 11) in Vienna. In 1966 he was posthumously awarded the Paracelsusring of the city of Villach .

Publications (selection)

• Hans Moritsch, Josef Krausler: The endemic early summer menigoencephalitis in the Vienna basin (Schneider’s disease) . In: Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift. 69: 921-926 (1957).

literature

• Anton Kreuzer: Carinthian. Biographical sketches. 18.-20. Century. Kärntner Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft, Klagenfurt 1996, ISBN 3-85391-139-0 , p. 179.