Dilip Mahalanabis Age, Death, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	• Paediatrician • Scientist • Public health specialist
Known for	Discovering Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in feet & inches- 5’ 8”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Career
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• 1994: Elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences • 2002: The first Pollin Prize in Pediatric Research • 2006: Prince Mahidol Prize • 2023: Padma Vibhushan (posthumous)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	12 November 1934 (Monday)
Birthplace	Kishoreganj, Bengal Province, British India (now Dhaka Division, Bangladesh)
Date of Death	16 October 2022
Place of Death	A private hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal
Age (at the time of death)	87 Years
Death Cause	Lung infection and other age-related ailments [1]The Indian Express
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Kishoreganj
College/University	• Calcutta Medical College, Kolkata • National Health Service (NHS), United Kingdom
Educational Qualification(s)	• Graduation in pediatrics at the Calcutta Medical College • Diploma in Child Health (DCH) at the National Health Service (NHS) • Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP(UK)), a post-graduate medical diploma in the UK [2]Firstpost
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Widower
Family
Wife/Spouse	Jayanti Mahalanabis (died on 9 July 2021)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dilip Mahalanabis

• Dilip Mahalanabis was an Indian paediatrician, scientist, and public health specialist, who was well-known for the discovery of the oral rehydration solution (ORS) to cure diarrhoeal diseases. In 2023, he passed away at the age of 87 after suffering from a lung infection.

• He was the first Indian to be appointed as the registrar of London’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children in London. ^[3]Hindustan Times
  

  Dilip Mahalanabis in his young age

• In the 1960s, he was employed at the Johns Hopkins University International Centre for Medical Research and Training in Kolkata. He dedicated his research work to oral rehydration therapy during this time.

• During the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence, there was a large refugee crisis, and cholera caused many deaths among the refugees in India. The JH-CMRT sent its medical staff to help, with Dilip Mahalanabis leading a team near the India-East Pakistan border in Bongaon. They believed that oral rehydration therapy, based on available research, could prevent fatal dehydration in cholera cases. Dilip Mahalanabis created an oral rehydration solution (ORS) using 22g glucose, 3.5g sodium chloride, and 2.5g sodium hydrogen carbonate per litre of water. They treated 3700 patients over 8 weeks, and only 135 died (3.6% fatality rate), a significant improvement from the earlier 30% rate. In another area, the rate was even lower at 1%. ^[4]NCBI

• Dr Dhiman Barua from WHO supported Mahalanabis’s treatment at WHO and UNICEF, after visiting his Bongaon camp; however, the scientific community were sceptical about his treatment. Journals declined to publish his paper, and it took 7 more years for the acceptance of Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT). ^[5]The Indian Express He didn’t patent his ORS formula.

• From 1975 to 1979, he worked in WHO’s cholera unit in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Yemen.

• In the 1980s, he was appointed as a consultant on bacterial diseases for the WHO.

• In the 1980s and 1990s, he served as a medical officer in WHO’s Diarrheal Disease Control Programme.

• In 1990, he became a clinical research officer at the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, and later, he became its Director of Clinical Research.

• In 2004, Dilip Mahalanabis and Dr. Nathaniel Pierce were working together to develop an enhanced ORS formula. This improved formula aimed to be more efficient in preventing dehydration resulting from different forms of diarrhoea and had the potential to reduce stool output. ^[6]The Indian Express

• He is regarded as the father of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution). ^[7]The Times of India

• In August 2017, Dilip and his wife made a donation of Rs 1 crore to the Institute of Child Health in Kolkata.