Dr Dilip Mahalanabis

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Context

Dr Dilip Mahalanabis, who pioneered Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) treatment as a simple, effective remedy for dehydration has passed away.

Details

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), diarrhoeal diseases, such as cholera, are among the leading causes of mortality in infants and young children in many developing countries, where the patient dies of dehydration. ORS, a combination of water, glucose and salts, is a simple and cost-effective method of preventing this.
Dr Mahalanabis was working in overflowing refugee camps during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation war when he came up with ORS.
ORS is considered as the most important medical discovery of the 20th century.