How Racism and "Tropical Medicine" Built the Panama Canal.

At the turn of the 20th century, the physician William Gorgas led work that substantially mitigated mortality from mosquito-borne diseases among workers building the Panama Canal. The waterway launched the United States to political and economic superpower status by eliminating the need for risky maritime travel around the southern tip of South America, expediting exportation of US goods in international markets. Yet, as this article explains, innovations that curbed malaria and yellow fever were deeply rooted in racist foundations of capital and empire.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE HEALTH SITUATION WITHIN THE POPULATION IN SLAVONIA AND SRIJEM DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR WITH AN EMPHASIS ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES / Prilog poznavanju zdravstvenih prilika stanovnistva u Slavoniji i Srijemu tijekom Drugoga svjetskog rata, s naglaskom na zarazne bolesti

During World War II, the population of agricultural areas of Slavonia and Srijem lived in privation, but there was no famine. A more serious threat was infectious diseases, such as malaria, typhoid fever, and dysentery, which were also present within the population in the post-war period. Major epidemics broke out mostly in areas under partisan control, especially in the areas of western and central Slavonia, where major epidemic typhus contagious broke out. Venereal diseases, less common in the Slavonian area before the war, were also on the rise. Two factors had an impact on the health situation within the population ­ state medical institutions and partisan medical corps. Health care and measures to combat infectious diseases were provided by state authorities, and that is still an insufficiently explored area in historiography. During the first years of the war, the partisan medical corps personnel, initially mostly semiskilled and lacking necessary medical equipment and medications, relied on the support from the population to a greater extent than they were able to provide medical care to them. With the arrival of professional staff and the acquisition of medicines and medical equipment, mainly sourced from medical institutions in areas under partisan control, they assumed a more active role in supporting civilian authorities under the "people's rule"­specifically, the people's liberation committees. Their focus shifted to healthcare for the civilian population, primarily aimed at suppressing and preventing infectious diseases. Further research on this topic will contribute to a more realistic perception of the civilian population's everyday life during the war, which was presented in memoir literature and historiography of the socialist period as a heroic act of resistance rather than a struggle for survival in the conditions of privation and diseases; it will also complete the picture of the human losses of the civilian population caused by infectious diseases.

[Understanding the mode of transmission of malaria agents: an astonishing series of hypotheses, observations, research and controversy]. / Compréhension du mode de transmission des agents du paludisme: une étonnante suite d'hypothèses, d'observations, de recherches et de controverses.

In 1880, Laveran observed the causative agent of malaria. As early as 1884, he considered that mosquitoes could be responsible for the transmission of haematozoa, a hypothesis which resulted from the observation and reflection of an informed hygienist. But, as Laveran himself said, "the opinion that I defended was considered by most observers to be highly unlikely".Nearly 15 years after the discovery of the haematozoan, the elucidation of the mechanism of transmission still proved difficult to establish. A link with the existence of swamps had been established a long time before, but the true mode of transmission remained a mystery until the end of the 19th century. The implication, by Manson in 1877, of mosquitoes in the cycle of the Bancroftian filaria, then other observations of the same order, ended up attracting the attention of malariologists. Laveran himself was quickly convinced of the role of mosquitoes in carrying out the natural cycle and propagating Plasmodium, but this theory had as many detractors as supporters.In 1897, Ross showed the presence of oocysts on the stomach of mosquitoes previously gorged on a malaria patient, then in 1898, of sporozoites of bird plasmodia in mosquitoes. He was convinced that, through their bite, these insects were responsible for the transmission of human malaria agents, without being able to prove it. The results obtained by Ross were immediately confirmed in Italy by Grassi and his collaborators who, in November 1898, described the stages of Plasmodium in man and, through various experiments carried out in collaboration with British researchers, showed the role of Anopheles, a result far from being accepted by all. Skepticism persisted for a long time.An excellent protozoologist, Laveran was not an entomologist. He was however among the first defenders of the anopheline theory. He worked extensively on establishing the relationships between Anopheles mosquitoes and malaria and took a close interest in the environmental conditions of the transmission. In his mind, malaria fever should henceforth be classified as a preventable disease. An era of hope thus dawned: malaria prophylaxis, based on fight against mosquitoes, could begin.

[Laveran, the military doctor]. / Laveran, le médecin militaire.

Son of Louis-Theodore Laveran, holder of the Chair of Diseases and Epidemics in the Armies at the Val-de-Grâce and grandson of an artillery commander through his mother, Alphonse, born in Paris on June 18, 1845, follows in his father's footsteps by entering the Imperial School of Military Health in Strasbourg at the age of 18.After his thesis, he participated in 1870 in the war against Prussia. He was taken prisoner in Metz. He then prepared for the competitive examination to become a professor, which he passed in 1874. He was appointed to the Chair of the Val-de-Grâce, which his father had created. He then went to Algeria. It was at the military hospital in Constantine on November 6, 1880 that he indisputably discovered the haematozoa responsible for malaria in the blood of a soldier in the crew train.In 1884, he was appointed to the Chair of Military Hygiene and Legal Medicine at Val-de-Grâce. At the end of his professorship in 1894, after being refused a posting to Paris to continue his research and not being consulted for the preparation of the Madagascar expedition, which turned into a health disaster in 1895, he retired prematurely in 1897. Hosted by Émile Duclaux and Émile Roux at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, he continued his research mainly on protozoa as agents of human and animal diseases until his death. His work in medical protozoology earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1907. During the Great War, with the benefit of his experience, he warned the Minister of War in January 1916 about the risk of malaria incurred by the army of the East in the delta of the Vardar River in Salonika. The spring would prove him right.An illustrious military doctor and scientist of international renown, Laveran died on May 18, 1922 in Paris.

[Laveran and the French Academy of Medicine]. / Laveran et l'Académie nationale de médecine.

In November 1880, Alphonse Laveran, stationed at the Constantine military hospital, addressed to the Academy of Medicine a "Note on a new parasite found in the blood of several patients with malaria fever". Léon Colin, professor at the Val-de-Grâce school, is the rapporteur, but he is not convinced by these observations, nor by two additional notes sent by Laveran in December 1880 and October 1881. This skepticism is shared by other academicians such as Joseph Laboulbène and Émile Duclaux.Twelve years will be necessary for Laveran to overcome the disbelief of the French scientific community. Three fundamental books donated to the Academy testify to the tenacity with which he gradually succeeded in convincing most of his colleagues: Traité des fièvres palustres avec la description des microbes du paludisme in 1884, Des hématozoaires du paludisme in 1887, and Du paludisme et de son hématozoaire in 1891.Laveran was elected to the Academy of Medicine on December 26, 1893. His resignation from the Military Health Corps enabled him to participate assiduously in meetings and to intervene in debates concerning infectious and tropical diseases, hygiene and prophylaxis. Obtaining the Nobel Prize in 1907 for his work on malaria, trypanosomiasis and colonial diseases crowned his work while honoring the Academy. Laveran was elected vice-president for the year 1919 and president for 1920, the year of the centenary of the Academy, the celebration of which he organized to the detriment of his health. He died two years later, having fulfilled his duty to the end of his strength.

[In the wake of Alphonse Laveran]. / Dans le sillage d'Alphonse Laveran.

Alphonse Laveran (Nobel Prize 1907) played a pioneering role in discovering the causative agent of malaria, a disease that has existed since time immemorial, and long emblematic of the miasma theory until the end of the 19th century. In 1880, this unknown military doctor discovered the role of a hematazoan in malaria, designated Plasmodium. This was the first protozoan to be discovered in an infectious disease, at a time when bacteria were mainly suspected. This major discovery led to the identification of the role of mosquitoes in the spread of malaria by Ronald Ross (Nobel Prize 1902) and Battista Grassi. The recurrence of malaria attacks over many years was for a long time an enigma only solved after the Second World War by the discovery of the exo-erythrocytic cycle of Plasmodium. Progress was then made in treatment, from cinchona bark, quinine and chloroquine, to the recent discovery of artemisinin in 1972 by the Chinese researcher Tu Youyou (Nobel Prize 2015).

Malaria as a Papal Disease.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of malaria on the lives of Roman pontiffs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The histories of all 264 popes from Saint Peter to John Paul II were extensively studied. RESULTS: Malaria affected the lives of Roman pontiffs. Between 999 AD and 1644 AD, 21 of 99 popes were affected by malaria (21.4%). The first affected was Gregory V and the last was Urban VII, the 138th and the 235th pope, respectively. There were 15 deaths (15.2%). Six pontiffs (6.1%) were infected but survived. Many cardinals and their assistants, especially those coming from northern countries, contracted malaria during conclaves, and many died. CONCLUSIONS: By about 450 BC, malaria had arrived in Rome. By the second century BC, malaria was endemic. It affected the lives of Roman people. To prevent infection, the popes adopted the custom of ancient affluent Romans who used to spend summer months in high plains far from Rome. The first to adopt the custom was Paul I in 767, who just moved his residence to Saint Paul, out of the walls. Sixtus V started the Congregation of Waters and Streets, which was routinely reinforced by his successors until 1860, when the Kingdom of Italy was born.

An ordinary malaria? Intermittent fever in Denmark, 1826-1886.

Intermittent fever is a historical diagnosis with a contested meaning. Historians have associated it with both benign malaria and severe epidemics during the Early Modern Era and early nineteenth century. Where other older medical diagnoses perished under changing medical paradigms, intermittent fever 'survived' into the twentieth century. This article studies the development in how intermittent fever was framed in Denmark between 1826 and 1886 through terminology, clinical symptoms and aetiology. In the 1820s and 1830s, intermittent fever was a broad disease category, which the diagnosis 'koldfeber'. Danish physicians were inspired by Hippocratic teachings in the early nineteenth century, and patients were seen as having unique constitutions. For that reason, intermittent fevers presented itself as both benign and severe with a broad spectrum of clinical symptoms. As the Parisian school gradually replaced humoral pathology in the mid-nineteenth century, intermittent fever and koldfeber became synonymous for one disease condition with a nosography that resembles modern malaria. The nosography of intermittent fever remained consistent throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. Although intermittent fever was conceptualized as caused by miasmas throughout most of the nineteenth century, the discovery of the Plasmodium parasite in 1880 led to a change in the conceptualization of what miasmas were. The article concludes that the development of how intermittent fever was framed follows the changing scientific paradigms that shaped Danish medicine in the nineteenth century.

Las tercianas en Menorca en el contexto de la Oscilación Maldá: las fiebres de 1782 / Tertian fevers in Menorca in the context of the Maldá Oscillation the fevers of 1782

A finales del siglo XVIII la confluencia de anomalías climáticas de carácter extremo propició la alteración de los ecosistemas, y la expansión de las fiebres palúdicas más allá de sus tradicionales áreas endémicas afectando al desarrollo de la vida cotidiana de la sociedad de la época. Entre 1783 y 1786 las fiebres se extendieron por la península Ibérica suscitando una creciente inquietud por parte de médicos y de autoridades para lograr atajar la epidemia de forma efectiva. Las tercianas, también estuvieron presentes en las Islas Baleares, especialmente en Menorca, como desvelan los informes remitidos por los corresponsales de la Real Academia Médico-Práctica de Barcelona en relación con el episodio de fiebres de 1782. La finalidad de este artículo reside en analizar, a través del testimonio del doctor Miquel Oleo, médico de Ciutadella en Menorca, los principales puntos de infección de la isla, atendiendo a las condiciones del medio que imperaban en ese momento y a las particularidades del clima de la isla y de las actividades humanas que se desarrollaban. Asimismo, dedicamos un apartado a analizar las soluciones propuestas por el médico en respuesta a las preguntas formuladas por Juan Baptista de San Martín y Navas, Auditor Real del Ejército e Isla de Menorca y vocal de su junta de gobierno. (AU)

The confluence of extreme climatic anomalies in the late 18th Century led to the alteration of ecosystems and the expansion of malarial fevers beyond their traditional endemic areas, affecting the development of daily life in the society of the time. Fevers spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula between 1783 and 1786, causing growing concern among doctors and authorities about ways to effectively tackle the epidemic. Tertial fevers were also present in the Balearic Islands, especially in Menorca, as reported by correspondents of the Real Academia Médico-Práctica de Barcelona in relation to the episode of fevers in 1782. The aim of this article was to analyze, through the testimony of Dr. Miquel Oleo, a doctor from Ciutadella in Menorca, the main points of infection on the island, taking account of the prevailing environmental conditions and the particularities of the island’s climate and human activities. We also devote a section to analyzing the solutions proposed by the doctor in response to the questions posed by Juan Baptista de San Martín y Navas, Royal Auditor of the Army and Island of Menorca and member of its governing board. (AU)

Paludismo en Quito-Ecuador: Hospital San Juan de Dios (1916-1925), erradicación (1940-1950) y posible retorno (2021) / Malaria in Quito-Ecuador: San Juan de Dios Hospital (1916-1925), eradication (1940-1950) and possible return (2021)

Objetivo principal: caracterizar el paludismo en el Hospital San Juan de Dios (HSJD) y su Dispensario Infantil (DI) en Quito entre 1916-1925, en el contexto histórico de la erradicación de la malaria y las posibilidades de su retorno a Quito. Metodología: estudio historiográfico médico, descriptivo y retrospectivo, de los registros clínicos del HSJD y del DI (1916-1925) del Museo Nacional de Medicina Eduardo Estrella e información del Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador (MSP). Resultados principales: en 10.025 pacientes atendidos, 209 tuvieron paludismo, mayoritariamente procedentes de valles con más de 2.000 metros de altitud, cercanos a Quito. Conclusión principal: la morbilidad del paludismo en Quito y sus valles dependió directamente de las condiciones socio-económico-sanitarias de la población y climáticas del entorno. La situación actual recrea factores similares, con reportes sugerentes de un posible retorno de la malaria autóctona a Quito (AU)

Main objective: To characterize malaria in the San Juan de Dios Hospital (HSJD) and its Children's Dispensary (DI) in Quito between 1916-1925, in the historical context of the eradication of malaria and the possibilities of its return to Quito. Methodology: A descriptive and retrospective medical historiographic study of the clinical records of the HSJD and DI (1916-1925) of the Eduardo Estrella National Museum of Medicine and information from the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador (MSP). Main results: In 10,025 patients seen, 209 had malaria, mostly from valleys near Quito with more than 2,000 meters of altitude. Main conclusion: The morbidity of malaria in Quito and its valleys depended directly on the socio-economic-sanitary conditions of the population and the climatic conditions of the environment. The current situation recreates similar factors, with reports suggesting a possible return of autochthonous malaria to Quito (AU)

Analysing malaria events from 1840 to 2020: the narrative told through postage stamps.

The role played by postage stamps in the history of malaria control and eradication has largely gone unrecognized. Scientific investigators of malaria, especially Nobel laureates, were commemorated with special issues, but the work of the World Health Organization (WHO), which promoted an ambitious and global philatelic initiative in 1962 to support global eradication, is generally overlooked. This review examines the philatelic programme that helped to generate international commitment to the goal of malaria eradication in 1962 and established philatelic malaria icons that had worldwide recognition. Malaria-related postage stamps have continued to be issued since then, but the initial failure of malaria eradication and the changing goals of each new malaria programme, inevitably diluted their role. After the first Global Malaria Eradication Campaign was discontinued in 1969, few Nations released philatelic issues. Since the Spirit of Dakar Call for Action in 1996 a resurgence of postage stamp releases has occurred, largely tracking global malaria control initiatives introduced between 1996 and 2020. These releases were not co-ordinated by the WHO as before, were more commercialized and targeted stamp collectors, especially with attractive miniature sheets, often produced by photomontage. Having a different purpose, they demonstrated a much wider diversity in symbolism than the earlier stylized issues and at times, have been scientifically inaccurate. Nonetheless postage stamps greatly helped to communicate the importance of malaria control programmes to a wide audience and to some extent, have supported preventive health messages.

Vinculación del virólogo profesor Adolfo García Sastre con la Universidad de Salamanca y con la Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia / Relationship of the virologist professor Adolfo García Sastre with the University of Salamanca and the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy

Se detallan y comentan algunos datos biográficos relativos al virólogo Profesor Adolfo García Sastre correspondientes a su etapa como estudiante en la Facultad de Biología de la Universidad de Salamanca, durante los cursos finales de su Licenciatura (años 1981-1986), así como a los siguientes en que realizó su Tesis de Licenciatura (Tesina) en 1986,y Doctorado (1986-1990), en el Departamento de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de dicha Facultad (Director: Prof.J.A. Cabezas); habiendo obtenido en ambas las máximas calificaciones y el Premio Extraordinario en la de Doctorado. También se resumen las líneas de investigación que cultivó en Salamanca hasta 1991 en colaboración con el director de ambas Tesis (el Profesor Titular Enrique Villar), el Profesor J.A. Cabezas y, a veces, otros. Los resultados obtenidos, así como los derivados de su breve etapa inmediata en el Instituto Pasteur de Paris, en coordinación con el Departamentos almantino, fueron publicados en revistas de Virología o de Bioquímica de gran prestigio y presentados en congresos nacionales e internacionales. Posteriormente, en su etapa americana en el Mount Sinai de Nueva York, entró en contacto con el Profesor Mariano Esteban, entonces trabajando en el Down state Medical Center de New York, SUNY, y ambos, conjuntamente con el grupo del New York University (NYU) dirigido por Ruth Nussenweig y Fidel Zavala, llevaron a cabo experimentos seminales de inmunología que abrieron las bases a la combinación de vacunas en protocolos prime/boosty activación de linfocitos TCD8+ con resultado de alta eficacia frente a patógenos. Estos protocolos están siendo implementados en numerosos ensayos preclínicos y clínicos. La contribución del Prof. García Sastre a la ciencia está actualmente en fase exponencial, abriendo nuevos horizontes en el entendimiento de la biología molecular de virus emergentes, su patología, interacción virus-hospedador y desarrollando nuevos procedimientos de control viral

Se detallan y comentan algunos datos biográficos relativos al virólogo Profesor Adolfo García Sastre correspondientes in the Biology School of University of Salamanca and during his PhD Thesis (1986-1990) in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Chairman Prof J.A. Cabezas), under the supervision of Prof. Enrique Villlar and obtaining the highest academic marks. The research lines that he established in collaboration with his Thesis director, with Prof.J.A Cabezas and others, as well as his results during his stay at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, are also highlighted. His findings in this period were published in prestigious Virology and Biochemistry journals and presented at national and international meetings. Thereafter, when he moved to Mount Sinai in New York, he met Prof Mariano Esteban, then working at Downstate Medical Center in New York, SUNY, and both, in collaboration with the group of Prof. Ruth Nus-senzweig and Fidel Zavala at New York University, set up seminal immunological studies that are the basis for combined vaccination approaches, prime/boost and activation of CD8+ T cells, now widely used in preclinical and clinical studies. The scientific research contributions of Prof. García Sastre are growing at an exponential rate, opening new horizon sin understanding the molecular biology of emerging viruses, their pathology virus-host cell interactions and strategies of virus control

THE TERMINAL APHONIA OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, A SILENT HERALD OF AN ORDINARY DEATH

Even though the absence of the body prevents sure conclusions, the death of Alexander the Great remains a hot topic of retrospective diagnosis. Due to the serious mishandling of ancient sources, the scientific literature had Alexander dying of every possible natural cause. In previous works, the hypothesis that typhoid fever killed Alexander was proposed, based on the presence of the remittent fever typical of this disease in the narrations of Plutarch and Arrian. Here we provide additional evidence for the presence of stupor, the second distinctive symptom of typhoid fever. In fact, based on the authority of Caelius Aurelianus and Galen, we demonstrate that the word ἄφωνος, used to describe the last moments of Alexander, is a technical word of the lexicon of the pathology of Hippocrates. Used by him, the word defines a group of diseases sharing a serious depression of consciousness and motility. The association of stupor with the remittent fever strengthens the typhoid fever hypothesis.

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.

Prevention of re-establishment of malaria: historical perspective and future prospects.

Prevention of re-establishment (POR) refers to the prevention of malaria outbreak/epidemic occurrence or preventing re-establishment of indigenous malaria in a malaria-free country. Understanding the effectiveness of the various strategies used for POR is, therefore, of vital importance to countries certified as "malaria-free" or to the countries to be thus certified in the near future. This review is based on extensive review of literature on both the POR strategies and elimination schemes of countries, (i) that have reached malaria-free status (e.g. Armenia, Mauritius, Sri Lanka), (ii) those that are reaching pre-elimination stage (e.g. South Korea), and (iii) countries at the control phase (e.g. India). History has clearly shown that poorly implemented POR programmes can result in deadly consequences (e.g. Sri Lanka); conversely, there are examples of robust POR programmes that have sustained malaria free status that can serve as examples to countries working toward elimination. Countries awaiting malaria elimination status should pre-plan their POR strategies. Malaria-free countries face the risk of resurgence mostly due to imported malaria cases; thus, a robust passenger screening programme and cross border collaborations are crucial in a POR setting. In addition, sustained vigilance, and continued funding for the national anti-malarial campaign programme and for related research is of vital importance for POR. With distinct intrinsic potential for malaria in each country, tailor-made POR programmes are built through continuous and robust epidemiological and entomological surveillance, particularly in countries such as Sri Lanka with increased receptivity and vulnerability for malaria transmission. In summary, across all five countries under scrutiny, common strengths of the POR programmes are (i) a multipronged approach, (ii) strong passive, active, and activated passive case detection, (iii) Indoor residual spraying (IRS), and (iv) health education/awareness programmes.

History of malaria control in Rwanda: implications for future elimination in Rwanda and other malaria-endemic countries.

BACKGROUND: Malaria was first reported in Rwanda in the early 1900s with significant heterogeneity and volatility in transmission over subsequent decades. Here, a comprehensive literature review of malaria transmission patterns and control strategies in Rwanda between 1900 and 2018 is presented to provide insight into successes and challenges in the country and to inform the future of malaria control in Rwanda. METHODS: A systematic literature search of peer-reviewed publications (Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Google Scholar, and the World Health Organization Library (WHOLIS) and grey literature on malaria control in Rwanda between 1900 and 2019 was conducted with the following search terms: "malaria"", "Rwanda", "epidemiology", "control", "treatment", and/or "prevention." Reports and other relevant documents were also obtained from the Rwanda National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP). To inform this literature review and evidence synthesis, epidemiologic and intervention data were collated from NMCP and partner reports, the national routine surveillance system, and population surveys. RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-eight peer-reviewed publications and 56 grey literature items were reviewed, and information was extracted. The history of malaria control in Rwanda is thematically described here according to five phases: 1900 to 1954 before the launch of the Global Malaria Eradication Programme (GMEP); (2) Implementation of the GMEP from 1955 to 1969; (3) Post- GMEP to 1994 Genocide; (4) the re-establishment of malaria control from 1995 to 2005, and (5) current malaria control efforts from 2006 to 2018. The review shows that Rwanda was an early adopter of tools and approaches in the early 2000s, putting the country ahead of the curve and health systems reforms created an enabling environment for an effective malaria control programme. The last two decades have seen unprecedented investments in malaria in Rwanda, resulting in significant declines in disease burden from 2000 to 2011. However, in recent years, these gains appear to have reversed with increasing cases since 2012 although the country is starting to make progress again. CONCLUSION: The review shows the impact and fragility of gains against malaria, even in the context of sustained health system development. Also, as shown in Rwanda, country malaria control programmes should be dynamic and adaptive to respond and address changing settings.

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.

Historical epidemiology and global health history.

The subdiscipline of historical epidemiology holds the promise of creating a more robust and more nuanced foundation for global public health decision-making by deepening the empirical record from which we draw lessons about past interventions. This essay draws upon historical epidemiological research on three global public health campaigns to illustrate this promise: the Rockefeller Foundation's efforts to control hookworm disease (1909-c.1930), the World Health Organization's pilot projects for malaria eradication in tropical Africa (1950s-1960s), and the international efforts to shut down the transmission of Ebola virus disease during outbreaks in tropical Africa (1974-2019).