A pioneer in Canadian public health
Dr. Frederick Montizambert was one of the first doctors in North America to realize and understand the importance of bacteriology as it relates to infectious disease.
After receiving his MD at Université Laval, Dr. Montizambert travelled to Edinburgh for further training before taking up the post of medical superintendent of the Grosse-Île Quarantine Station in 1869, a post he held for thirty years.
At the time, the Station, which was the main point of entry for all immigrants coming to Canada from Europe, had a long history of deadly cholera epidemics. Dr. Montizambert’s innovative quarantine methods, based on a knowledge of the newly discovered “microbes” and their relationship to contagion, succeeded in reducing morbidity and mortality among the vulnerable newcomers.