Máxime “Max” Kuczyński: Father of Peruvian Public Health and of the 66th President of Peru

Máxime Kuczyński (1890–1967), a medical pioneer born in Poland, was renowned for his work in tropical medicine in the Peruvian jungle, especially on Bartonella baciliformis , the cutaneous form known as verruga peruana of deadly Oroya fever. His unique university training in anthropology, philosophy, and parasitology lead to a participatory observational method of practicing medicine. At the request of the Peruvian President, he ventured into the Peruvian Amazon in 1936 to establish a public health service in partnership with indigenous populations. In June 2016, his son Pedro Pablo Kuczyński, a former Prime Minister of Peru, was elected the 66th President of Peru.