Abstract:
"Malaria is an ancient disease and is referenced to a Chinese document (Neghina et al.,
2010) from about 2700 BC, the Nei Ching (Chinese Canon of Medicine) discussed malaria
symptoms and the relationship between fevers and enlarged spleens, 1550 BCE: The
Ebers Papyrus mentions fevers, rigors, splenomegaly, and oil from Balantine’s tree as
mosquito repellent, 6th century BCE: Cuneiform tablets mention deadly malaria-like
fevers affecting Mesopotamia. The spread of malaria in Europe is believed to be either via
the Nile valley from Africa or more likely due to close contact with the people from Asia
Minor. The description of the rampant of disease can be found in the writings of Homer
(750 B.C.), Aristophanes (445-385 B.C.), Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), Plato (428- 347 B.C.)
and Sophocles (496- 406 B.C.). Malaria became widely recognized in Greece by the 4th
century BC, and it was responsible for the decline of many of the city-state populations.
Hippocrates (460–370 BCE), the ""father of medicine"", related the presence of
intermittent fevers with climatic and environmental conditions and classified the fever
according to periodicity: “L.febristertian” (fever every third day), and “L.febrisquartana”
(fever every fourth day) and was first in Egypt to make connection between nearness of
stagnant bodies of water and occurrence of fevers in local population (Pappas et al.,
2008). In ancient Rome, even temples were dedicated to the goddess Febris in honor of
the “Roman fever” and gave rise to the Italian word mal’aria, meaning “bad air”, to
describe the cause of disease (Bruce-Chwatt, 1988). Romans also associated marshes
with fever and pioneered efforts to drain swamps (Sallares et al., 2002). In Susruta, a
Sanskrit medical treatise written during Vedic period (1500- 800 BC), the symptoms of
malarial fever were described and attributed to the bites of certain insects. Malaria
described as autumnal fevers characterized by enlarged spleen are referred to as the
“king of diseases”. Enlarged spleens due to malarial infection were reported in Egyptian
mummies more than 3,000 years old and malaria antigen was detected in their lung and
skin samples (Miller et al., 1994). Malaria being a potentially lethal human infectious
disease infested every continent, except Antartica (Carter et al., 2002)."
