The opening of Dr. M. Baltazard's boulevard and Dr. Y. Karimi's square in Akanlu, Hamadan

Moreover, it should be mentioned that Dr. Baltazard (1907- 1971) was appointed as the third French head of Pasteur Institute of Iran. He continued to serve in this position for twelve consecutive years. In this regard, what gave Dr. Baltazard a global fame was his researches on plague and rabies. His entrance to Iran coincided with the third epidemic of plague in Iran and based on his former experiences he had already gained in plague control in Morocco, he, together with his co-workers, conducted extensive researches to control plague in the west of Iran. He also founded the research site of Pasteur Institute of Iran in Akanlu village in 1952. His studies in Kurdistan revealed that persistence of plague infection in these regions was due to the presence of certain rodents with high resistance to this infection. His researches on plague in Iran have turned Pasteur Institute of Iran, the epidemiology department and Akanlu site into scientific poles of this disease, globally. Baltazard also conducted research programs regarding plague in Brazil, Peru, Burma and Mauritania.

Dr. Y. Karimi (1929-2008) passed several courses on microbiology and immunology in Pasteur Institute of Paris after becoming a specialist in infectious and tropical diseases. Karimi was the head of the epidemiology department of Pasteur Institute of Iran for many years. He also devoted 25 years to researches on various diseases (plague in particular) in Kurdistan and Azerbaijan. As the expert of WHO, he travelled to many countries such as Brazil, Zaire, and Tanzania. In 1978, a new focus of plague disease from Sarab region in eastern Azerbaijan was reported by Karimi and his colleagues.

In 2016 and after serious efforts of different ministries, the governor of Hamadan, and Kabudrahang, the road between Akanlu and Pasteur Institute of Iran (12,000 square meters) was paved with asphalt; building sidewalks (600 square meters) and relocation of the telecommunications network (2 km) and building curbs on sidewalks (15 km) were successfully completed with the implement of more than fifteen billion Rials. The road signs on the pathway to Kabudrahang were also bilingual. Having achieved all these important goals, Akanlu village has been appointed as a tourist attraction nationwide facilitating more extensive national and international activities in the field of emerging and re-emerging diseases of Pasteur Institute of Iran.