Abstract:
"The history of malaria can be traced with the history of mankind. In the Sushruta, a
Sanskrit medical treatise (6th century BCE), the symptoms of malarial fever were
described and attributed to the bites of certain insects. Enlarged spleens caused by
malarial infection have been identified in more than 3,000 years old Egyptian
mummies, and malarial antigens have been detected in lung and skin. (Miller et al.,
1994). Writings from Vedic period (1500-800 B.C.) suggest the existence of malaria
in India. Malaria, described as autumnal fevers characterized by enlarged spleens, is
referred to as the “king of diseases”. The Chinese medical classics in 2700 B.C.
described the symptoms of malaria - headache, chills and fever, and ascribed it to
three demons - one carrying a hammer, another with a pail of water and the third with
a stove (Bruce-Chwatt, 1988). The spread of malaria in Europe is believed to be
either via the Nile valley in Africa, or more likely due to the interactions of the
Europeans with the residents of Asia Minor."
