Acacio Gabriel Viegas

Dr. Acacio Gabriel Viegas (1856-1933) was a medical practitioner who was credited with the discovery of the outbreak of bubonic plague in Bombay, India in 1896. His timely discovery helped saved many lives in the city and was credited with the innoculation of 18,000 residents. He was also the president of the Bombay Municipal Corporation.

The plague

In 1896, a mysterious disease hit the city in the Nowroji Hill slums. The disease spread rapidly affecting many city residents and became an epidemic. Those in the medical field were puzzled by this disease which saw a mass exodus from the city. The city's commerce was badly hit, and the flourishing textile industry was grounded.

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Dr Viegas correctly diagnosed the disease as Bubonic Plague and tended to patients with great personal risk. He then launched a vociferous campaign to clean up slums and exterminate rats, the carriers of the plague.

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To confirm Veigas' findings, four teams of independent experts were brought in. With his diagnosis proving to be correct, the Governor of Bombay invited Dr W M Haffkine, who had earlier formulated a vaccine for cholera, do the same for the epidemic. Haffkine's vaccine saved thousands of lives with Veigas personally innoculating around eighteen thousand residents.

Related Topics:
W M Haffkine - Cholera

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As a Goan, he did a lot for his community with active involment in the upliftment and education of Goans.

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After his death in 1933, a life-size statue of him was erected in the Cowasji Jehangir Hall opposite Metro Cinema on his birth centenary in 1956, by the Governor of Bombay Presidency, Dr Harekrushna Mahtab, as a tribute to the services rendered to the city. A street in the Dhobitalao area is also named after him.

Related Topics:
Cowasji Jehangir Hall - Metro Cinema - 1956 - Bombay Presidency - Harekrushna Mahtab - Dhobitalao

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