Category: Health & Medicine, Tropical diseases, U.S. National Library of Medicine, United States, Maryland
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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.
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.
