Altino Catapan

Altino Catapan was born in Cittadella, Padova, Veneto, Italy on July 4th, 1912. He graduated from the University of Padova in 1935. He went to Africa in 1937, as a dermatologist, to work in the Italian colonies of Ethiopia, Abisinia, and Eritrea.

In 1938, he became a prisoner in an English concentration camp, and was then tasked with looking after whorehouses. He remained in prison until the end of the war, when he returned to Italy. As his family was based in Brazil, he decided to move to the country, where he served as medical director of the pharmaceutical laboratory Zambom. In this position, he strongly supported the activities of continuing medical education and clinical research in the field of STD, being an important ally in the fight against them. He was the founder of the scientific societies União Brasileira contra as DST and Union Latino Americana contra las ETS.