The Centenary of the Leprosy Relief Association (Lepra)-a moment for celebration and reflection†.

The year 2024 is the Centenary of the foundation of the Leprosy Relief Association (Lepra), formerly the British Empire Leprosy Relief Association (BELRA). The name of the organization changed to the LEProsy Relief Association (LEPRA) in 1976 but has been known as Lepra since 2008. Over the years it has worked closely with members and office holders of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Its work has encompassed activities from the earliest initiatives to ensure appropriate living conditions for those with the disease to the development of leprosy chemotherapy. However, this has now evolved into a strong partnership between the UK- and India-based Lepra hubs, which are carrying out research and public health initiatives ranging from elimination of prejudice against those with leprosy to adopting the recently launched WHO programme for skin NTDs to facilitate integrated control and management regimens. The fight against leprosy has always been a partnership between a wide variety of disease-specific NGOs, health-care workers and international health agencies. The story of Lepra illustrates the central role of these partnerships and national as well as international collaboration.

A century of the Journal of Helminthology.

The Journal of Helminthology (JHL) was first published in 1923 and was originally created as a house journal of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The JHL was devised by its first Editor, Robert Leiper, to allow for rapid publication of results from the Department of Helminthology and its offshoot the Institute of Agricultural Parasitology. From this initial narrow focus the JHL has subsequently become not only internationally recognized but also retained its original emphasis on morphological, taxonomic and life cycle studies while embracing the emergence of new fields and technological advancements. The present review covers the historical development of the JHL over the last century from 1923 to 2023.

Pietro Pacifico Gamondi (1914-1993), tropical physician and ethnologist. A protagonist of medical research in the middle of the 20th century.

Pietro Pacifico Gamondi was a tropical physician, who was one of the main protagonists of medical research during the 20th century. His training as a doctor first saw him in Rome following doctor Aldo Castellani. Gamondi then left for Lisbon, London, and the extra-European countries that have characterized his path as a doctor and as a man. In fact, he traveled to Indonesia and Africa, where took care of the population, combining European and local medicine. In this contribution, we wanted to remember the figure of a man who dedicates his life to tropical medicine and to the care of others.

[Naval contributions at the beginning of the tropical medicine research in the 19th century]. / Aportes navales al inicio de la investigación en medicina tropical en el siglo XIX.

In the second half of the 19th century, the beginning of the research on tropical medicine was favored with contributions from shipping companies, like Dutch East India Company, being perhaps the most important of these its collaboration in the creation of the China Imperial Maritime Customs Service (1854-1950), imposed by consuls from England, France and USA, on the weak Chinese government in order to establish regular taxes in all its ports, soon expanding its functions with reports on tides, typhoons and weather, ending up creating a medical service in 1863 to detect epidemics and establish quarantines. This medical service published a Journal, the Imperial Maritime Customs Medical Reports, where they wrote distinguished investigators, such as Patrick Manson, Father of Tropical Medicine. We comment in some reports of this journal, to get an idea about its real importance in the development of tropical medicine.

Aportes navales al inicio de la investigación en medicina tropical en el siglo XIX / Naval contributions at the beginning of the tropical medicine research in the 19th century

Resumen En la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, el inicio de la investigación en medicina tropical se vio favorecido con aportes de empresas navieras, como la Compañía Holandesa de las Indias Orientales, siendo quizás el más importante su gestión apoyando la creación en China del Servicio Marítimo Imperial de Aduanas (1854-1950), impuesto al débil gobierno chino por los cónsules de Inglaterra, Francia y EEUU, para establecer tasas regulares en todos sus puertos, que pronto amplió sus funciones a la información de mareas, tifones y clima, terminando por crear en 1863 un Servicio Médico para detectar epidemias y establecer cuarentenas. Este Servicio Médico editó una revista, Medical Reports, en la cual publicaron distinguidos investigadores, como Patrick Manson, Padre de la Medicina Tropical. Comentamos algunos informes aparecidos en ella, para conocer su real importancia en el desarrollo de la medicina tropical.

Abstract In the second half of the 19th century, the beginning of the research on tropical medicine was favored with contributions from shipping companies, like Dutch East India Company, being perhaps the most important of these its collaboration in the creation of the China Imperial Maritime Customs Service (1854-1950), imposed by consuls from England, France and USA, on the weak Chinese government in order to establish regular taxes in all its ports, soon expanding its functions with reports on tides, typhoons and weather, ending up creating a medical service in 1863 to detect epidemics and establish quarantines. This medical service published a Journal, the Imperial Maritime Customs Medical Reports, where they wrote distinguished investigators, such as Patrick Manson, Father of Tropical Medicine. We comment in some reports of this journal, to get an idea about its real importance in the development of tropical medicine.

Women made visible: a different perspective on the history of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Portugal, 1943-1966.

This work focuses on the scientific research conducted by women at Portugal's Institute of Tropical Medicine between 1943 and 1966. The Institute's scientific journal documents the participation of women in tropical medicine during this period. Their publications addressed a variety of subjects and resulted from research carried out in the metropolis as well as Portugal's overseas colonies. Most of the articles written by these women were are co-authored by their male colleagues, reflecting the incorporation of female researchers into scientific networks already established by men. This work in progress provides a starting point to lend visibility to a group of scientific actors who are practically absent from the historiography of tropical medicine.

Women made visible: a different perspective on the history of the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Portugal, 1943-1966 / Mulheres visíveis: uma perspectiva diferente na história do Instituto de Medicina Tropical em Portugal, 1943-1966

Abstract This work focuses on the scientific research conducted by women at Portugal's Institute of Tropical Medicine between 1943 and 1966. The Institute's scientific journal documents the participation of women in tropical medicine during this period. Their publications addressed a variety of subjects and resulted from research carried out in the metropolis as well as Portugal's overseas colonies. Most of the articles written by these women were are co-authored by their male colleagues, reflecting the incorporation of female researchers into scientific networks already established by men. This work in progress provides a starting point to lend visibility to a group of scientific actors who are practically absent from the historiography of tropical medicine.

Resumo O foco deste trabalho é a pesquisa científica realizada por mulheres no Instituto de Medicina Tropical, em Portugal, entre 1943 e 1966. O periódico científico do Instituto documenta a participação das mulheres na medicina tropical nesse período. Suas publicações abordavam uma diversidade de temas e resultaram de pesquisas realizadas na metrópole, bem como nas colônias ultramarinas de Portugal. A maioria dos artigos escritos por mulheres contava com a coautoria de seus colegas homens, refletindo a incorporação de pesquisadoras às redes científicas já estabelecidas por homens. Este trabalho em andamento representa um ponto de partida para dar visibilidade a um grupo de atores científicos que está praticamente ausente da historiografia da medicina tropical.

History of the E.I. Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine: research on malaria and leishmaniasis.

This review presents the 100-year history of the Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine in Moscow, Russia, starting with its foundation and early activities, and also describes the impact of its leading scientists, some of whom became internationally known. The institute headed a network of nine tropical institutes in the various Soviet republics from the 1920s to 1990. The extensive body of literature on the history and research accomplishments of this institute has mainly been published in Russian; our goal here is to introduce these achievements and this expertise to the international scientific and medical community, focusing on malaria and leishmaniasis and the development of measures to control and monitor these diseases in the USSR.

["Hypnotics" in the metropolis: Africans in the Colonial Hospital of Lisbon during the early twentieth century]. / "Hipnóticos" na metrópole: africanos no Hospital Colonial de Lisboa nas primeiras décadas do século XX.

At the start of the twentieth century, some Portuguese physicians traveled to Africa to study sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis). One was Ayres Kopke, a member of the first medical mission to Portuguese West Africa and professor at the School of Tropical Medicine. After returning to Lisbon, Kopke continued his research, which included observation of patients brought to the metropolis. Starting in 1903, health departments in the colonies were responsible for sending patients with certain exotic diseases to the Colonial Hospital of Lisbon. Based on documents from this hospital including photographs of patients (who at that time were called "hypnotics"), this article discusses the importance of human experiments in Lisbon for advances in tropical medicine during the colonial period.

No início do século XX, alguns médicos portugueses foram à África estudar a chamada doença do sono. Entre eles estava Ayres Kopke, membro da primeira missão médica à África Ocidental Portuguesa. De regresso a Lisboa, o professor da Escola de Medicina Tropical continuou suas pesquisas, inclusive por meio da observação de doentes trazidos para a metrópole. Desde 1903, as repartições de saúde nas colônias estavam incumbidas de enviar doentes com determinadas patologias exóticas para o Hospital Colonial de Lisboa. Com base em documentos desse hospital, incluindo fotografias dos doentes, então chamados de hipnóticos, o artigo aborda a importância das experiências com humanos na metrópole para o avanço da medicina tropical durante o colonialismo.

History of the E.I. Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine: research on malaria and leishmaniasis / História do Instituto E.I. Martsinovsky de Parasitologia Médica e Medicina Tropical: pesquisa sobre malária e leishmaniose

Abstract This review presents the 100-year history of the Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine in Moscow, Russia, starting with its foundation and early activities, and also describes the impact of its leading scientists, some of whom became internationally known. The institute headed a network of nine tropical institutes in the various Soviet republics from the 1920s to 1990. The extensive body of literature on the history and research accomplishments of this institute has mainly been published in Russian; our goal here is to introduce these achievements and this expertise to the international scientific and medical community, focusing on malaria and leishmaniasis and the development of measures to control and monitor these diseases in the USSR.

Resumo O artigo analisa a história centenária do Instituto Martsinovsky de Parasitologia Médica e Medicina Tropical em Moscou, Rússia, desde sua fundação e primeiras atividades, e descreve a influência de seus principais cientistas, alguns dos quais viriam a conquistar renome internacional. O instituto liderou uma rede de nove institutos tropicais em diversas repúblicas soviéticas entre as décadas de 1920 e 1990. A vasta literatura sobre o trabalho de história e pesquisa desse instituto foi publicada sobretudo em russo; nosso objetivo aqui é apresentar esse trabalho e conhecimento à comunidade médica e científica internacional, concentrando-se na malária e na leishmaniose e no avanço de medidas de controle e monitoramento dessas doenças na URSS.

"Hipnóticos" na metrópole: africanos no Hospital Colonial de Lisboa nas primeiras décadas do século XX / "Hypnotics" in the metropolis: Africans in the Colonial Hospital of Lisbon during the early twentieth century

Resumo No início do século XX, alguns médicos portugueses foram à África estudar a chamada doença do sono. Entre eles estava Ayres Kopke, membro da primeira missão médica à África Ocidental Portuguesa. De regresso a Lisboa, o professor da Escola de Medicina Tropical continuou suas pesquisas, inclusive por meio da observação de doentes trazidos para a metrópole. Desde 1903, as repartições de saúde nas colônias estavam incumbidas de enviar doentes com determinadas patologias exóticas para o Hospital Colonial de Lisboa. Com base em documentos desse hospital, incluindo fotografias dos doentes, então chamados de hipnóticos, o artigo aborda a importância das experiências com humanos na metrópole para o avanço da medicina tropical durante o colonialismo.

Abstract At the start of the twentieth century, some Portuguese physicians traveled to Africa to study sleeping sickness (African trypanosomiasis). One was Ayres Kopke, a member of the first medical mission to Portuguese West Africa and professor at the School of Tropical Medicine. After returning to Lisbon, Kopke continued his research, which included observation of patients brought to the metropolis. Starting in 1903, health departments in the colonies were responsible for sending patients with certain exotic diseases to the Colonial Hospital of Lisbon. Based on documents from this hospital including photographs of patients (who at that time were called "hypnotics"), this article discusses the importance of human experiments in Lisbon for advances in tropical medicine during the colonial period.

Leishmaniases of the New World from a historical and global perspective, from the 1930s to the 1960s.

The first autochthonous cases of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in the Americas were described in 1909, but visceral leishmaniasis only erupted as a public health problem in the region in 1934. Today Brazil is the country with the most cases of American tegumentary leishmaniasis, and alongside India has the highest incidence of visceral leishmaniasis. Knowledge production and efforts to control these diseases have mobilized health professionals, government agencies and institutions, international agencies, and rural and urban populations. My research addresses the exchange and cooperation networks they established, and uncertainties and controversial aspects when notable changes were made in the approach to the New World leishmaniases.

Leishmaniases of the New World from a historical and global perspective, from the 1930s to the 1960s / Leishmanioses do Novo Mundo numa perspectiva histórica e global, dos anos 1930 aos 1960

Abstract The first autochthonous cases of cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis in the Americas were described in 1909, but visceral leishmaniasis only erupted as a public health problem in the region in 1934. Today Brazil is the country with the most cases of American tegumentary leishmaniasis, and alongside India has the highest incidence of visceral leishmaniasis. Knowledge production and efforts to control these diseases have mobilized health professionals, government agencies and institutions, international agencies, and rural and urban populations. My research addresses the exchange and cooperation networks they established, and uncertainties and controversial aspects when notable changes were made in the approach to the New World leishmaniases.

Resumo Os primeiros casos de leishmaniose cutânea e mucocutânea autóctones das Américas foram descritos em 1909, e em 1934 a leishmaniose visceral irrompeu como problema de saúde pública na região. O Brasil tem hoje o maior número de casos da leishmaniose tegumentar americana e, junto com a Índia, a mais elevada incidência de leishmaniose visceral. A produção de conhecimentos e os esforços para controlar essas doenças mobilizaram, em nível global, profissionais de saúde, populações urbanas e rurais, instituições governamentais e agências internacionais. Recuperam-se aqui alguns desses agrupamentos, redes de troca e cooperação, incertezas e polêmicas, identificando-se mudanças na abordagem das leishmanioses do Novo Mundo.

Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz: the character, the scientist, the academician.

The present work analyses some particular aspects of Oswaldo Cruz's unique biography, valuing his work, which was built along a successful physician and scientist professional trajectory and also as a courageous and fortunate formulator of public health policies and of fight strategies against the epidemics that seasonally affected the city of Rio de Janeiro at the beginning of the 20th century. The authors also dwell on his legacy as Head scientist and manager of the Institute that bears his name and became the template for experimental research and medicine in Brazil and the bedrock of the Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, one of the most important Brazilian Institutions devoted to teaching, research, development and production in health. This heritage made possible to overcome the existing dissensions between doctors and scientists to build a sanitary movement committed to the major health problems in Brazil. Finally, the paper explores some features of the character and reports some of his moments during his passage, as a Full Academician, at the Brazilian Academia Nacional de Medicina.

Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. IV: Special Technical Studies.

The essay examines the scientific representations that unfolded and evolved at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the fourth in a historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution and it portrays the diagrammatic representations of special technical research aspects and studies (i.e., personnel, epidemiology, methodology, animal studies, biology, field studies, treatment and immunology, and chemotherapy agents). The essay focuses on the emerged scientific representations and on the nature and evolution of sciences at the School, and has been divided into four sections: a) images of science, b) evolution during the first two eras, c) the third and last era unfolding, and d) special technical studies. In this paper the scientific representations have been brought about mainly through the analyses of research publications in external and local venues. The analysis of the STM's scientific evolution has been organized in three distinct historical stages: 1926-31, 1932-40, and 1941-49. These representations open an exploration pathway for a better understanding of the intricate interrelationships between the techné and the episteme horizons of tropical medical science in Puerto Rico.

Scientific Representations at the UPR School of Tropical Medicine. III: The Evolution of Science, the Last Era (1941-1949).

The essay examines the scientific representations that unfolded and evolved at the University of Puerto Rico School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University (1926-1949). It focuses on the emerged scientific representations and on the nature and evolution of sciences at the School, and has been divided into four sections: images of science, evolution during the first two eras (1926-31 and 1932-40), the unfolding last era (1941-49), and special technical studies. This article on the STM's scientific endeavors is the third in this historical serial collection about the images and evolution of sciences at the institution, and portrays the events and processes of the last scientific era. It analyzes the faculty's principal investigations, development of research programs, and concomitant scientific productivity and research outcomes. The scientific representations have been brought forth through the analyses of different sources: academic and research reports, and publications in external and local venues. The analysis of the STM's scientific evolution has been organized in three distinct chronological stages, while also considering other time evolving models (e.g., historical moments). The main themes of the collection are the scientific images and knowledge exemplars: the emergence of a tradition. An analytical framework of research schemas, exemplars of knowledge, and epistemes proved useful and constructive. These studies on the history of science allow for the postulation of an 'enriched thesis' on the different kinds of paradigmatic diseases of tropical medicine in Puerto Rico during the 20th Century, and enable further substantiation of the tropical obliviousness thesis.