Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis
Abstract Public health strategies for malaria in endemic countries aim to prevent transmission of the disease and control the vector. This historical analysis considers the strategies for vector control developed during the first four decades of the twentieth century. In 1925, policies and technolog...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-02-01
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| Series: | Malaria Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-018-2244-2 |
| _version_ | 1818274588517203968 |
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| author | Gabriel Gachelin Paul Garner Eliana Ferroni Jan Peter Verhave Annick Opinel |
| author_facet | Gabriel Gachelin Paul Garner Eliana Ferroni Jan Peter Verhave Annick Opinel |
| author_sort | Gabriel Gachelin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Public health strategies for malaria in endemic countries aim to prevent transmission of the disease and control the vector. This historical analysis considers the strategies for vector control developed during the first four decades of the twentieth century. In 1925, policies and technological advances were debated internationally for the first time after the outbreak of malaria in Europe which followed World War I. This dialogue had implications for policies in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, and influenced the broader international control agenda. The analysis draws on the advances made before 1930, and includes the effects of mosquito-proofing of houses; the use of larvicides (Paris Green) and larvivorous fish (Gambusia); the role of large-scale engineering works; and the emergence of biological approaches to malaria. The importance of strong government and civil servant support was outlined. Despite best efforts of public health authorities, it became clear that it was notoriously difficult to interrupt transmission in areas of moderately high transmission. The importance of combining a variety of measures to achieve control became clear and proved successful in Palestine between 1923 and 1925, and improved education, economic circumstances and sustained political commitment emerge as key factors in the longer term control of malaria. The analysis shows that the principles for many of the present public health strategies for malaria have nearly all been defined before 1930, apart from large scale usage of pesticides, which came later at the end of the Second World War. No single intervention provided an effective single answer to preventing transmission, but certainly approaches taken that are locally relevant and applied in combination, are relevant to today’s efforts at elimination. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T22:16:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf085f39f96147b7876367b396ee5850 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1475-2875 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T22:16:15Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Malaria Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf085f39f96147b7876367b396ee58502022-12-22T00:10:04ZengBMCMalaria Journal1475-28752018-02-0117111810.1186/s12936-018-2244-2Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysisGabriel Gachelin0Paul Garner1Eliana Ferroni2Jan Peter Verhave3Annick Opinel4Laboratoire SPHere, UMR 7219, Université Paris Diderot. Sorbonne Paris CitéCentre for Evidence Synthesis in Global Health, Department of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical MedicineEpidemiological Department of the Veneto RegionDept. Med. Microbiology, Radboud University Medical CentreUMR 1181 Biostatistics, Biomathematics, Pharmacoepidemiology and Infectious Diseases, Institut Pasteur/Inserm/UVSQAbstract Public health strategies for malaria in endemic countries aim to prevent transmission of the disease and control the vector. This historical analysis considers the strategies for vector control developed during the first four decades of the twentieth century. In 1925, policies and technological advances were debated internationally for the first time after the outbreak of malaria in Europe which followed World War I. This dialogue had implications for policies in Europe, Russia and the Middle East, and influenced the broader international control agenda. The analysis draws on the advances made before 1930, and includes the effects of mosquito-proofing of houses; the use of larvicides (Paris Green) and larvivorous fish (Gambusia); the role of large-scale engineering works; and the emergence of biological approaches to malaria. The importance of strong government and civil servant support was outlined. Despite best efforts of public health authorities, it became clear that it was notoriously difficult to interrupt transmission in areas of moderately high transmission. The importance of combining a variety of measures to achieve control became clear and proved successful in Palestine between 1923 and 1925, and improved education, economic circumstances and sustained political commitment emerge as key factors in the longer term control of malaria. The analysis shows that the principles for many of the present public health strategies for malaria have nearly all been defined before 1930, apart from large scale usage of pesticides, which came later at the end of the Second World War. No single intervention provided an effective single answer to preventing transmission, but certainly approaches taken that are locally relevant and applied in combination, are relevant to today’s efforts at elimination.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-018-2244-2History of malariaHistory of vector controlHouse-proofingInsecticideGambusiaSpecies sanitation |
| spellingShingle | Gabriel Gachelin Paul Garner Eliana Ferroni Jan Peter Verhave Annick Opinel Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis Malaria Journal History of malaria History of vector control House-proofing Insecticide Gambusia Species sanitation |
| title | Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis |
| title_full | Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis |
| title_fullStr | Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis |
| title_short | Evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control: a historical analysis |
| title_sort | evidence and strategies for malaria prevention and control a historical analysis |
| topic | History of malaria History of vector control House-proofing Insecticide Gambusia Species sanitation |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-018-2244-2 |
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