AWARDEE OF MEDICAI SCIENCES PRIZE

YU YONGXIN

Abstract

Yu Yongxin, a medical virologist, was born in March, 1929 in Xianyou, Fujian Province.  He graduated from Foochow University (former Fujian Union University) in 1953 and worked in the National Institute for the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products (NICPBP).  In this institute he has been engaged in studies of viral vaccine and quality control mainly on Japanese encephalitis(JE), Hemorrhage fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) and rabies vaccines. He has been the deputy chief of the Division of viral vaccine and Division of first viral vaccine.  Now he is the vice-chairman of expert advisory committee of zoonoses and member of committee of biological standardization, Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), and the editorial member of Journal of Medical Virology (WILEY-LISS).
In 1956-1958, when the serious side reaction of mouse brain JE vaccine occurred, Prof. Yu Yongxin, the head of JE virus group and his colleagues began to study attenuated live JE vaccine.  After 100 serial passages of a JE virulence virus (SA14) in primary hamster kidney tissue culture for attenuation, 17 times of plaque-cloning for attenuated virus selection and several times of suckling mice peripheral passages for increasing immunogenicity, he obtained one JE virus clone which appeared no intracereberal virulence for mice and monkeys, stable after in vitro or in vivo passages and good immunogenicity.  Several times of human trials showed the live vaccine was not only safe but also highly immunogenic for humans, the seroconversion rates and protective rates were estimated to be 85%-100% and over 95% respectively.  The vaccine was licensed for production by Ministry of Public Health in 1989.  The annual products in recent years were about 3.5 million doses.  This vaccine is the first attenuated JE vaccine developed in the world.  This work headed by Prof. Yu Yongxin was awarded the first class award of progrese in Science and Technology from MOPH in 1989 and first class of National Award in 1990.
In 1990 Prof.  Yu was appointed as the head of a collaborated group joined by six institutes for studies of HFRS inactivated vaccine, which belonged to the subject of State Eight Five Year Plan.  The group cooperated well and studied hard.  After 5 years, the group successfully prepared 3 kinds of inactivated HFRS vaccines.  Human trials indicated the vaccines induced good neutralizing antibodies and high preventive efficacy, the seroconversion rates and protective rates were estimated to be 85%-100% and 95%-98% respectively.  The vaccines were licensed for production in 1993 and 1994 by MOPH.  The two vaccines made from two cell cultures were the first HFRS vaccines developed in the world.  This work was awarded the first class Award of progress in Science and Technology from MOPH in 1996 and first class of National Award in 1997.
Prof. Yu also participated study on the rabies vaccine made from hamster kidney tissue culture.  The vaccine was licensed in 1980 for production.  This work was awarded the first class award of progress in science and technology from MOPH in 1980.
 Besides the above achievement, he has participated in studying Arbovirus and HFRS virus and obtained 8 ministerial and provincial Awards of Science and Technology.  He has published 200 papers and 5 books.