Abstract:
Man and malaria seem to have evolved together. The origin of malaria parasites
can be traced along with the history of mankind. Malaria parasites probably originated in
Africa and fossils mosquitoes have been found up to 30 million years old. From their
origins in Africa, P. vivax and P. malariae were possibly brought to the New World by
early voyagers on the trans-Pacific route (Bruce-Chwatt, 1988). Some Plasmodium
parasites are highly specific, with human beings as the only vertebrate host and
Anopheles mosquitoes as the vectors. This specificity of the parasites also points towards
its long and adaptive association with humans.
Hippocrates was the first to explain the manifestations of the disease and relate it
to the time of year and to place the patients lived. The connection with stagnant water
that provide breeding habitats to Anopheles, led the Romans to initiate drainage
programs, the first known intrusion against malaria and the condition was described as
“Roman fever” (Boyd, 1949). The first written record for the treatment of malaria dates
back to 1600, with cinchona bark in Peru. By 1649, the bark was used in England, as
'jesuits powder' for people suffering from 'agues'. In 1889, the protozoan cause of malaria
was elicited by Laveran working in Algeria. In 1897, Ronald Ross demonstrated that the
Anopheles mosquito is the vector for the disease, and he named August 20 "Mosquito Day." At this time point the major features of the epidemiology of malaria seemed clear
and implementation of control measures were started (Sherman, 1998).
