Malaria
History of Medicine Guide to Tropical Disease Motion Pictures and Audiovisuals Introduction The Tropical Disease Motion Picture and Audiovisual Collection is comprised of films, videorecordings, and digital videocasts produced from the 1920s through 2009, with the majority shot prior to the 1960s. All are devoted to health concerns and include material on medicine and public health. Materials range from ideological, documentary, educational, and training films to American war propaganda. The intended audience is diverse and includes military personnel, health professionals, and the general public.
History of Medicine Introduction Malaria was historically a major threat to the health of the Chinese people. In 1950, over 30 million Chinese people suffered from malaria and one percent of them died. The Chinese government launched national campaigns against malaria in the early 1950s. Programs of malaria control were integrated in the general rural development of land reclamation, irrigation construction, and improvement of sanitary conditions for both humans and livestock. While timely treatment of malaria is essential, the anti-malaria campaigns strongly emphasized preventive methods, as "prevention first" was the health policy in the 1950s-1980s.
History of Medicine INTRODUCTION Tropical medicine began in the nineteenth century when doctors diagnosed infectious diseases in soldiers and colonists who had lived in tropical areas. In 1877, English scientist Sir Patrick Manson proved that mosquitoes spread elephantiasis to humans and he later theorized that the same was true with malaria. This was an enormous step in tropical medicine and the understanding of tropical diseases, leading to advances in prevention methods. The field of tropical medicine consists of the study, treatment, and prevention of tropical diseases. Tropical diseases can be defined as those that are mainly of parasitic origin and are common in tropical or subtropical areas.
Mark F. Boyd (1889-1968), a physician, researcher and writer, specialized in tropical medicine, and his research on malaria brought him international recognition. The Rockefeller Foundation selected Boyd to conduct research on malarial regions of the western hemisphere. He was elected President of the American Society of Tropical Medicine, and received numerous awards. For 16 years Boyd served as an officer of the National Malaria Society and became president of the organization in 1946. Boyd also wrote a number of articles on public health and served on the Florida State Board of Public Health. He collected materials dealing with malariology, field ecology, and other branches of science like botany. The Mark F.
