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Darrera modificació: 2010-07-01
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat
Bruce-Chwatt, Leonard Jan - Zulueta, Julián de, The Rise and Fall of Malaria in Europe: A Historico-Epidemiological Study, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1980, xvi + 240 pp.
- Resum
- This is a worthy sequel to Hackett's "Malaria in Europe" and might have been called "The eradication of malaria from Europe", for in the 43 years separating these publications this tremendous objective has been achieved. This new book could not have had a better authorship as both workers have had intimate experience in the field and possess the keenest historical sense. More than half the book is devoted to the historical perspective. The early history is naturally blurred as it was only a century ago that the malaria parasite and its transmission by mosquitoes were discovered. Few records before 1880 can be ascribed with absolute certainty to malaria, though strangely enough one of the earliest -- the Hippocratic Collection -- comes nearest to precise diagnosis, while the authors' speculations on the origin of malaria in the remote past are based on exact knowledge of the parasites' climatic requirements. Thus a fascinating account is given of the fundamental effect of the glacial periods which were followed by "Plasmodium jumping over the successive isothermic barriers". Special attention is paid to the malignant P. falciparum which was only able to invade Europe during the warmer periods and only when certain strains of the anopheline vector had become selected for development. Each country is examined separately: the progress of the disease from the earliest times until today, including the date of the last indigenous case; the achievements of its nationals in malaria research; the problem of importation of new infections from outside Europe. The case incidence in many countries is given, the most complete being the Italian record from 1887 to 1978. Malaria in the more northern parts of Europe had begun to decline in the last century, as a result of improvements in agricultural methods, better socio-economic conditions and the availability of quinine; but only in a single country, Norway, had malaria completely disappeared. Denmark became free of transmission after 1921, and Sweden from 1939. Other countries had to wait until after the Second World War, when by the early 1960's most were malaria-free. Greece and Turkey (in Europe) were the last to rid themselves of the disease. Final eradication was stimulated by the activities of WHO and was facilitated by the introduction of DDT. The chapter on Russia is of much interest both because that country has made many discoveries and because a number of little known details are presented; however the inclusion of Asian data belies the title and it is difficult to pinpoint the contribution of the European element. Likewise the last chapter "With hindsight into the future" contains much extra-European information, but in this instance, it is relevant, because here lies the source of the future danger: the importation into Europe of infections from abroad and into countries where the vector mosquitoes still abound. The bibliography contains 730 titles. There is a portrait gallery of 65 malariologists or groups plus plates of antimalarial activities, cartoons, title pages of historical publications etc.; the portraits are accompanied by biographical summaries.
- Matèries
- Medicina - Pesta i altres malalties
Història de la medicina
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