| Abstract (croatian) | U članku se u prigodi 111. godišnjice rođenja podsjeća na prof. dr. Valtera Rukavinu (Rijeka, 1896.–1972.) kao iznimnu ličnost koja se je u zavičajnoj i nacionalnoj povijesti podjednako uspješno afirmirala kao izvrstan doktor medicine, infektolog, sveučilišni profesor, podjednako uspješan praktičar i znanstvenik, erudit i poliglot, zaljubljenik u umjetnost, ali i osebujan slikar–samouk… Školovanje je započeo u Rijeci, maturirao je u Sušačkoj gimnaziji, studirao u Innsbrucka Graza i Beča i Praga gdje je 1921. promaknut na čast doktora opće medicine. Profesionalnu karijeru započeo je u Zagrebu, nastavio kao kotarski liječnik u Vrbovskom, Križevcima, Osijeku i Zlataru. U međuvremenu se je u Epidemiološkom zavodu u Zagrebu usavršavao iz bakteriologije, epidemiologije, serologije, higijene i medicinske kemije. Na terenu uspješno provodi akcije na suzbijanju pjegavca i masovnog cijepljenja protiv škrleti i difterije, osniva zdravstvene stanice… Nakratko je u Zagrebu, tijekom rata biva premješten u Bosnu, vraća se u Zagreb, a zatim je od 1946. do smrti ponovno u Rijeci gdje pokreće odjel za zarazne bolesti koji će poslije prerasti u Kliniku Medicinskog fakulteta. Kao praktičara i znanstvenika zanimaju ga svi aspekti infektologije i graničnih područja, a najviše je postigao sustavnim istraživanjem i provedbom uspješnih mjera zaštite te konačnim iskorjenjivanjem velike epidemije bruceloze koja se u poslijeratnim godinama pojavila u Istri. Osim u više stručnih udruga, kao slikar samouk uspješno djeluje i u Udruženju likovnih umjetnika Hrvatske u Rijeci. |
| Abstract (english) | This article on the occasion of the 111th birthday of professor Valter Rukavina (Rijeka, 1896-1972) recalls this extraordinary personality who is remembered by local and national history as an excellent physician, infectionist, university professor, equally successful scientist and practitioner, scholar and a polyglot, art lover, and last but not least, an extraordinary self-taught painter… He graduated from secondary school in Sušak and studied medicine in Innsbruck, Graz, Vienna and Prague, where he received diploma in general practice in 1921. He started his career in Zagreb, then moved to Vrbovsko, Križevci, Osijek, and Zlatar as district physician. Meanwhile, at the Institute of Epidemiology he specialised in bacteriology, epidemiology, serology, hygiene, and medical chemistry. He successfully organised anti-typhus campaigns and mass vaccinations against scarlet fever and diphtheria, and established local healthcare stations. After a brief stay in Zagreb, in WW2 he was transferred to Bosnia, returned to Zagreb, and since 1946 until his death he had lived in his native Rijeka, where he started an infectious diseases department that later grew into the School of Medicine clinic. Being a practitioner and a scientist, he was interested in all aspects of infectious diseases and contiguous areas, and made a major contribution with his systematic research and successful implementation of preventive measures and complete eradication of the great brucellosis epidemic that broke out in Istria after WW2. In addition to the membership in a number of professional associations, professor Rukavina was also an active member of the Rijeka chapter of the Croatian Association of Visual Artists. |
