Kahn, Reuben Leon 1887-1974

SEROLOGIST

Achievements.

Reuben L. Kahn was a Russian-born American serologist and immunolgist whose primary impact was the development of a more sensitive test for syphilis. Syphilis is one of the chief venereal diseases, a group of diseases generally transferred through sexual contact. If not treated promptly, syphilis can cause paralysis, mental derangement, and death. Syphilis can also be passed to the unborn children of pregnant mothers resulting in insanity, heart disease, and paralysis in the affected child. There is no vaccine for the disease, but treatment is relatively inexpensive and simple.

The Kahn Test.

The first effective test for syphilis was developed in 1906 by August von Wassermann. The Wassermann test was welcomed as the best way to detect the disease, but the test also required a two-day incubation period, and its complexity provided many sources for error. While many physicians and...

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