The Pasteur Society held the First Symposion on the occasion of World Rabies Day in memmory of Dr Adolf Hempt, founder of Pasteur Institute of Novi Sad, only one active in Serbia, in Reformed Church in Novi Sad, where Dr Hempt baptised in 1886.
Serbia is now rabies-free, but neighbouring contries Hungary and Romania have animal rabies, including rabies cases in domestic animals, spreading from war-torn Ukraine.
Dr Adolf Hempt was born in Novi Sad 1874, founded Pasteur Institute in 1921, and his inactivated rabies vaccine has been produced in many central and east European countries for many years. Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and former Yugoslavia produced Hempt’s vaccine up to introduction of cell culture vaccines, in 1980-s.
The introduction and God’s blessing were given by the bishop of the Reformed Church of Novi Sad, Botos Elemér, and archpriest-stavrophorus Branko Ćurčin. Dr. Mikloš Fabri, Dragan Dankuc, Zoran Vacić, Petar Novica Nikolic, Milorad Žikić and Edin Delić, mayor of Lukavac, gave welcoming speeches. Doyens of medicine from Novi Sad and Sombor gave lectures about history and modern medicine for publics, specially dedicated to humanism and work of dr Adolf Hempt. The lecturers were Vladimir Jokanović, Slavica Žižić-Borjanović, Dušanka Dobanovački, Đerđi Šarić, Milorad Žikić and Dušan Lalošević, former director of Pasteur Institute.