Jacinto Convit García, Venezuelan leprologist (Caracas 11 September 1913 – Caracas 12 May 2014)

Internationally recognized as one of greatest leprologists of his day

Authored over 300 papers  

Described anergic diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis or Convit disease (1946)

With P. Lapenta. Sobre un caso de leishmaniasis tegumentaria de forma diseminada. Rev. Policlin. Caracas 28(100):153-8, 1948

With F. Kerdel Vegas & G. Rodríguez. Erythema dyschromicum perstans: A hitherto undescribed skin disease. J. Invest. Dermatol. 36:457-62, 1961

Proposed armadillo as an experimental animal model in leprosy research (1975)

With I. Campo-Aasen & C. Alemán. New organelle observed in Leishmania brasiliensis. Trans. Roy. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 67:122-4, 1973

Developed an immunotherapeutic vaccine for leprosy and leishmaniasis (1982)

METHODS

First to perform vitamin E local infiltrations on patients with leprosy (Convit method)

La Vitamina E. Las atrofias musculares de la mano por neuritis leprosa y el tratamiento de estas lesiones por el alfa-tocoferol. Rev. Sanid. As. Social 8:641-8, 1943

With J. Jorgensen. Um método de absorción para la refinación del aceite de Hydnocarpus wightiana para inyecciones intramusculares. Los productos absorbidos. El test de Kreis y el valor de Valenta en el pronostico de la tolerância. Conf. Panam. Lepra 3:2-12, 1947 

Modified the Baker method for distinguishing Mycobacterium leprae and M. lepraemurium

With I. Campo-Aasen. Identification of the non-cultivable pathogenic mycobacteria M. leprae and M. lepraemurium. Int. J. Leprol. 36:166-70, 1968 

With M.E. Pinardi. A simple method for the differentiation of Mycobacterium leprae from other mycobacteria through routine staining technic. Int. J. Lepr. 40:130-2, 1972

With J.L. Avila, M. Goifman & M.E. Pinardi. A test for the determination of competency in clearing bacilli in leprosy patients. Bull. Wld Health Org. 46:821-6, 1972 

With M. Goihman-Yahr, E. Essenfeld Yahr, M.C. Albornoz, L. Yarzabal et al. New method for estimating direction of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis by phagocytic cells in vitro. J. Clin. Microb. 103:365-70, 1979

Eponym of Convit method for preparing a soluble skin test antigen and Convit soluble antigen

HONORS

Medicine & Physiology Nobel Prize nominee (1988)