{"id":453,"date":"2019-05-21T14:14:45","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T18:14:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/hst-journeys\/?p=453"},"modified":"2019-05-21T14:14:45","modified_gmt":"2019-05-21T18:14:45","slug":"medicine-and-disease-in-history-malaria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/hst-journeys\/2019\/05\/medicine-and-disease-in-history-malaria\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicine and Disease in History: Malaria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Lauren Schaffer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Essay 4 in a series, all from Dr. Amanda McVety\u2019s Spring 2019 class on Medicine and Disease in Modern Society <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The air is warm and\nmuggy. A faint buzzing echoes in the air, and neck hairs tingle. The acrid\nsmell of smoke fills nostrils, as bark nests are burned in an attempt to ward\noff an impending illness: malaria. This is what people may have experienced in\n1930s southeast America, where the disease devastated many towns near the\nwaters where mosquitos flourished.Biologically,\nthe disease was understood to be a cycle of chills and fevers, a parasitic\ninfection caused by the bite of an Anopheles mosquito or the drinking of\ninfected waters where they resided and bred. Socially, many people lived in\nfear because it was difficult to be sure whether or not a given mosquito or\nwater source was infectious. There was not a classist or isolationist attitude\nassociated with malaria, but there was a geographic or regional predisposition\nsurrounding who contracted the disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/strong>Between 1930 and 1940, the majority of what\npeople knew about malaria came from abroad, because that was where the disease\noriginated and primarily attacked. Africa, India, and south Asia were common\nplaces to contract malaria, and people were infected in droves, resulting in\nhundreds of thousands of deaths.[1]<\/sup><\/a>\nWhen it first reached America, the government questioned whether or not there\nshould be a quarantine because they were unsure of its contagion capabilities.[2]<\/sup><\/a>\nSoon, doctors and citizens alike knew how the disease was spread, through the\nvarious discharges of the Anopheles mosquito, but it was difficult for the\naverage person to differentiate between it and the common American Culex\nvariety. Its body is much narrower and sharper, and only this species carries\nthe parasites that cause infection.[3]<\/sup><\/a>\nPeople who drank water from sources where these insects mated were also at risk\nof contracting the disease, because the parasites can be secreted into the\nwater during mating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Once bitten, a victim begins to feel\nchills, which the body responds to with feverishness. This sequence repeats,\nand often induces nausea, vomiting, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin. The\nmain reason people die from malaria is due to these excessive lapses outside\nhomeostasis, which is exhaustive and cannot be maintained, as it wears out the\nimmune system.[4]<\/sup><\/a>\nPrimarily, 20th century doctors would prescribe people to bed rest for 10-15\ndays, which is usually how long it took to recover if survivable. Many victims,\nhowever, could face up to five years of relapse, and at the time they had no\nreason as to why this occurred in some cases and not others.[5]<\/sup><\/a>\nThe peak mortality rate of malaria in America was 3.3 deaths per 100,000\npersons, in 1933.[6]<\/sup><\/a>\nThough the death rate was not massive, it was higher than typical, and this\nfact combined with the imminent reality of often being outside terrified the\npublic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The fact that there was no real cure\ndid not help curb this paranoia. Treatment for malaria was fairly limited to\ntaking quinine, a substance extracted from the bark of cinchona trees, which is\nalso found in tonic water. It was first discovered in South America in 1820,\nwhen bark was a main source of medicinal products for varying diseases.[7]<\/sup><\/a>\nAt this time, it was recommended in encapsulated pills, since it absorbed\nbetter that way versus through an injection. The recommended dosage was 30\ngrains per day to break chills, then 10 grains daily at bedtime to break the\nattack, though relapse was still possible.[8]<\/sup><\/a> Plasmochin\nwas also effective for killing the parasite, but not to alleviate symptoms. It\nwas not advised to take quinine daily to prevent, only once the disease had\nbeen contracted. Throughout the history of malaria, drugs like quinine were\noften abused, and used as a vaccine instead of a symptomatic relief.[9]<\/sup><\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to prevent malaria before it began, many\ninfrastructural precautions were taken in areas of the southeast, such as\nTennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama, where it was most prevalent. Water\nreservoirs were seized by health departments and inspected, and persons living\nwithin a two-mile radius were tested regularly. Special bureaus were\ncommissioned explicitly for the investigation and prevention of malaria,\nspecifically by the TVA in Tennessee.[10]<\/sup><\/a> Mosquito\nnets covered many people as they went outside, and were also placed over food\nand other high-risk items. This became and issue, however, because the majority\nof malaria casualties stemmed from children, those with outdoor professions,\nand persons living and working in rural areas. These water treatments and net\ncoverings did not bode well for working in such sparse areas where being among\nthe marshes and cotton fields was their livelihood. One solution proposed at\nthe time was to grow legume plants, such as beans and alfalfa, as it had been\nobserved in other countries that crops such as these somehow fended off the\nmosquitoes.[11]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, scientists know about many different factors that\ncontribute to who gets malaria, why, and how to prevent it. There are several\nantibiotics in place that can treat it, quinine still being one of them. Other\ndrugs including chloroquine, doxycycline, mefloquine, and more are used to\ntreat the disease as well, sometimes in conjunction with quinine.[12]<\/sup><\/a>\nMuch of this is dependent on the type of parasite the mosquito hosts and\ninfects the person with, as well as other illness they may have, allergies,\narea of contraction, etc. In addition, a much wider spread of insecticides and\nbug zappers are available to protect people day-to-day from these potentially\ndeadly insects. Doctors are also aware of certain genes people hailing from\nAfrica and parts of the Middle East carry, which mutates their blood cells in a\nway that immunizes them from malaria (such as sickle cell disease).[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altogether, malaria is and was a lasting, horrific disease that\nstill affects millions of people today. Even though scientists know much more\nabout it at a molecular, chemical, and human level, it still kills and is being\ninvestigated further. No permanent treatment or vaccine exists yet, and many\nchildren and adults even now suffer immensely, especially in underfunded and\nunderdeveloped countries. By looking at how people experienced the disease\nearlier in history, researchers can compare the information they have now and\nperhaps learn from both their mistakes and advancements, in order to try and\neradicate the menace that is malaria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copeland, Royal S., M.D. “Guarding Your Health: Control of\nMalaria.” The Cincinnati Enquirer<\/em>,\nJune 27, 1931. Accessed March 1, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/search.proquest.com\/docview\/1882058259\/1067A9A0CC8E46C4PQ\/5?accountid=12434.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evans, Dr. W. A., M.D. “How To Keep Well: Treatment for\nControl of Malaria.” The Washington\nPost<\/em> (Washington, D.C.), October 29, 1932. Accessed February 28, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/search.proquest.com\/hnpwashingtonpost\/docview\/150244363\/6D227B296E294483PQ\/3?accountid=12434.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Krysto, Theo. “Can the World Banish Malaria?” Scientific American,<\/em> 142 (April 1930):\n270-72. Accessed February 28, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/web.b.ebscohost.com\/ehost\/detail\/detail?vid=0&sid=9c050e8e-219b-490f-a767-6a23adca6093%40pdc-v-sessmgr05&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=514363711&db=rgr<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malar, J. \u201cQuinine,\nan old anti-malarial drug in a modern world: role in the treatment of malaria\u201d US National Library of Medicine, <\/em>May 24,\n2011. Accessed April 19, 2019. https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3121651\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Malaria: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.”\nMedlinePlus. January 28, 2019. Accessed March 01, 2019.\nhttps:\/\/medlineplus.gov\/ency\/article\/000621.htm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mighty Malaria.” Time\nMagazine<\/em>, January 14, 1935. Accessed March 1, 2019. https:\/\/web.b.ebscohost.com\/ehost\/detail\/detail?vid=11&sid=51785a60-de75-41e4-b5cf-c234fa1fdf0a@pdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=54805106&db=a9h.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter, Russell B. “Malaria Scourge Fought By the\nTVA.” The New York Times<\/em>, April\n24, 1938. https:\/\/search.proquest.com\/docview\/102570606\/abstract\/7097FAF45CDB4552PQ\/1?accountid=12434<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowden, Frank M. The Global Challenge of Malaria: Past Lessons\nand Future Prospects. New Jersey: World Scientific, 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Public Health and National\nQuarantine. Malaria and Typhoid Fever:\nHearings before the United States Senate Committee on Public Health and National\nQuarantine, Sixty-Third Congress, Second Session, on Mar. 5, 6, 1914<\/em>. 63rd\nCong., 2d sess. S. Bill. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1914.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Public Health Service.\nAmerican Red Cross. “Quinine kills malaria germs” Library of Congress, <\/em>September 9, 1920. https:\/\/www.loc.gov\/item\/2017677870\/
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Frank\nSnowden, The\nGlobal Challenge of Malaria: Past Lessons and Future Prospects <\/em>(New Jersey: World Scientific, 2014), 29-30<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> US\nCongress, Malaria\nand Typhoid Fever: Hearings before the United States Senate Committee on Public\nHealth and National Quarantine <\/em>(Washington,\nU.S., 1914) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Theo Krysto, Can the\nWorld Banish Malaria? <\/em>(Scientific American, 1930), 270-272<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> MedlinePlus,\nMalaria:\nMedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia <\/em>(MedlinePlus,\n2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> Royal\nCopeland, Guarding Your Health: Control of Malaria <\/em>(The Cincinnati\nEnquirer, 1931)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> Snowden, 2014, 78<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> J.\nMalar, Quinine, an old anti-malarial drug in a modern world: role\nin the treatment of malaria <\/em>(US National Library of Medicine, 2011)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> Mighty Malaria <\/em>(Time\nMagazine, 1935)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9]<\/sup><\/a> W.\nA. Evans, How to Keep Well: Treatment for\nControl of Malaria <\/em>(The Washington Post, 1932)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10]<\/sup><\/a> Russell\nPorter, Malaria Scourge Fought by the TVA\n<\/em>(The New York Times, 1938)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11]<\/sup><\/a> Theo\nKrysto, 1930<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12]<\/sup><\/a> MedlinePlus,\n2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13]<\/sup><\/a>Snowden, 2014,142-145<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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