Hauser Philip

* Bratislava, April 2, 1832 – † Madrid, 1925 / physician, pioneer of ecological public health ; ; Studied at the yeshivas of Bratislava and Mikulov. He completed his secondary education in Bratislava, studied medicine at the universities of Vienna, Paris and Bern, and received his medical degree in 1858. The title of his dissertation, written in German, was: The Effect of the Nervous System on Nutrition. He planned to settle in Jerusalem and care for his fellow Jews, but the official in charge of the settlement directed him to Tangier, Morocco, where many Jews lived. In 1859, war broke out between Morocco and Spain, so Hauser continued his work in Gibraltar and lived there for the next ten years. He actively participated in the fight against the cholera epidemic raging in the area and on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. In 1872, he settled in Seville, where, in addition to his general medical practice, he also dealt with the public health situation in the city. He also wrote a book about this entitled Estudios Medico-Topograficos de Sevilla (1882). In 1883, he moved to Madrid with his family. He also helped with rescue work during the cholera epidemic that raged in Spain in 1884–1885. In 1887, he published his book on the causes of cholera and the possibilities of prevention (Estudios epidemiologicos relativos a la etiologia y profilaxis durante la epidemia colerica de 1884–1885 en España). In 1897, his work summarizing the history of European cholera epidemics (La Cholera en Europe Depuis Son Origine Jusqu ’a Nos Jours) was published in French. In 1902, he also summarized the public health situation of the Spanish capital in a book (Madrid desde elpunto de vista medico-social). La Geografia Medico de la peninsula Iberica, published in 1913, describes the public health conditions of the Iberian Peninsula, i.e. the whole of Spain. He often gave lectures at international medical congresses. In the field of public health and health, he represented the teachings of the German Pettenkofer. He attributed decisive importance to the soil and groundwater. This was the so-called telluric doctrine. According to him, the practice based on improving the soil is a form of combating disease. He also emphasized the role of medical topography and geography, but did not yet recognize the importance of bacteriology. He received several awards and was elected an honorary citizen of Seville. In 1924, he wrote his memoirs. In Spain, he was known as Felipe Hauser Y Kobler.