In Reply

In Reply.—We thank Pandya et al for their interest in our article¹  and their comments. To begin, we express our gratitude to Dr Purushottam Vishwanath Gharpure, MD, of Grant Medical College (GMC) (now Grant Government Medical College) and Sir J. J. Hospital (JJH) Mumbai, India, for his profound contributions to pathology in India. He created a history, a milestone, and an example for posterity worthy of emulation in the research of poliomyelitis by carrying out the first field trial of a live oral polio vaccine (Sabin), in Andhra Pradesh, which marked the beginning of the polio eradication program in India.²  He was considered a store of knowledge and experience by pathologists and has been a source of inspiration to junior and senior pathologists, microbiologists, and professionals as well as academicians.

Dr Gharpure has published small to large series of papers on the autopsy material of GMC and JJH, Mumbai. We agree that the data used by Dr Gharpure for his publications are from the same source as our study. However, the reports of Dr Gharpure^3–5  described organ-specific diseases such as carcinoma or amoebiasis. Because our study was focused on a general overview of the categories of causes of death, we decided not to cite the articles by Dr Gharpure addressing specific causes (eg, amoebiasis, carcinoma). We admit that not citing Dr Gharpure's papers was a blunder and we assure the readers that there was no intention to overlook his pioneering work. We also acknowledge that, had we cited articles by Dr Gharpure, it would have provided complete information of autopsy records in the pathology department of GMC to the readers.

Before 1949, histopathology of only interesting/unusual lesions of 1 or 2 organs were carried out, whereas after 1949, histology of all organs obtained at autopsy was carried out. We agree with Pandya et al that Dr Gharpure⁶  mentioned preservation of postmortem records in GMC from 1872. One report by Jhala,⁷  from GMC, mentions availability of autopsy records from 1882 onwards, confirming that postmortem records from 1872 to 1881 are missing. At present, autopsy records from 1884 to 1966 are available in the pathology department. We agree with the comment regarding “Waldemar Mordechai Wolff Haffkine”; we accept our error.

Regarding a comment on Robert Koch's workplace, Pandya et al write that it is unlikely that Robert Koch ever worked in the purported “Koch Room.” In regard to this, we went by the document⁸  that mentions that Robert Koch worked in the 2 rooms of the old animal house behind the coroner's court. Because the coroner's court was constructed in 1909, we agree that Robert Koch did not work at this place. Prior to 1909, postmortem examinations were carried out in a place constructed with stones; it was built in 1875 and is located in the vicinity of the old college building of GMC and Framji Dinshaw Petit Laboratory. This place is now used as an office of the social service department of GMC. The Framji Dinshaw Petit laboratory for scientific and medical research was built in 1891; it was in this laboratory, Dr Haffkine perfected the technique of preparing a safe and effective plague vaccine.⁹  Eminent bacteriologists such as Robert Koch (1897), Nusserwanji F. Surveyor (1895), Ernest Handbury Hankin (1896–1897), Surgeon Major Robert Manser (1896–1897), and Watkins-Pitchford (1898) worked in the Framji Dinshaw Petit laboratory.⁶  Two rooms where Robert Koch worked are in the Framji Dinshaw Petit laboratory. The Framji Dinshaw Petit laboratory has now been converted into a metropolitan blood bank.