The history of infectious disease care in Debrecen has a long history spanning centuries. From 1893, a Contagious Disease Hospital operated on the site of today’s hospital. The history of modern infectology turned the next chapter in 1957 with the Bem square building under the leadership of Dr. Dénes Münnich; children and adults with infectious diseases received care on these premises. In 1987, Dr. Lajos Dalmi became the head of the department, and in 2000, he relocated the department from the former 75-bed facility to the Bartók road site, the country’s most modern, 50-bed infectious disease building. From the year 2006 on, infectious patient care in Debrecen has continued steadily within the framework of the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Infectology, and Allergology under the leadership of Dr. István Várkonyi. In 2014, a national 2nd-tier HIV center was launched.
As of the year 2020, the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Infectology and Allergology has continued its operation as the Clinical Department of Infectology of the University of Debrecen Clinical Center. That same year, state-of-the-art negative air pressure technology and a patient monitoring system were also installed. During the COVID pandemic, the Department was involved in both international and domestic drug and vaccine development and took on a role in epidemic control as an Epidemiological Coordination Center.
Surpassed only by South-Pest Central Hospital’s National Institute of Hematology and Infectology, our Department is the second largest infectious disease patient care unit in the country by staff size; we deliver care at the highest (3rd) level of progressiveness for the residents of Debrecen, Hajdú-Bihar County, and the designated neighboring counties.