Synopsis
Caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes, malaria has tormented humanity for eons. Historical records describe people affected by malaria's symptoms in the Roman empire, and many historians believe the disease struck Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Genghis Khan.
Many methods were tried to stave off malaria-some logical, such as moving away from mosquito-ridden swamplands, some mystical, such as making offerings to the Roman god of fevers Febris. One of the first true advances was the discovery that the bark of the South American Cinchona tree cured some symptoms. Later, researchers used chemicals such as DDT to eliminate mosquito populations, wiping out the disease at its source.
Malaria was a tricky disease, and it quickly adapted defenses to whatever methods people used to fight it. As such, malaria still infects millions of people today. It remains especially devastating in poor countries, where a lack of resources makes the disease especially tough to fight. Despite new advances and medicines, malaria remains a global problem.
VOYA
An excellent new four-part Diseases in History series for student research projects provides interesting and useful scientific and historical information about plague, influenza, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. The material throughout is presented in a moderately comprehensive fashion, with well-chosen photos and illustrations. Cunningham writes extremely well in a way sure to engage even halfway interested readers. Malaria provides fascinating information about an ongoing scourge. Hundreds of millions of humans suffer from malaria and millions die each year. Anopheles mosquitoes carry the malaria parasite, whose life cycle is so complex that the author's simplifications stray from exactly accurate. Despite this caveat, the book is full of interesting facts about a cluster of diseases that originated in Africa and arrived in Europe thousands of years ago. Accounts of campaigns lost, empires weakened, and projects thwarted by malaria are amazing, and can lead to new insights on historical events. The discovery of quinine bark, the emergence of other therapies, and the great campaign of the mid-twentieth century to use DDT and chloroquin to eradiate malaria forever, make for engrossing reading. Unfortunately the power of evolution prevailed, as one after another the latest "cures" proved temporary. At present combination drugs (ACTs) are still effective. Low-tech approaches (mosquito nets, and the renewed use of DDT) are also part of current anti-malaria efforts. Here readers have an accessible, well presented account of the continuing struggle against a deadly disease. Reviewer: Rayna Patton