Humanity's burden : a global history of malaria / James L.A. Webb, Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Webb, James L. A., Jr., 1952-

Series:

Studies in environment and history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Malaria--History.

Malaria.

Malaria--history.

Antimalarials--history.

Communicable Disease Control--history.

Disease Outbreaks--history.

Quinine--history.

History.

Medical Subjects:

Malaria--history.

Antimalarials--history.

Communicable Disease Control--history.

Disease Outbreaks--history.

Quinine--history.

Physical Description:

xii, 236 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Summary:

Humanity's Burden provides a panoramic overview of the history of malaria. It traces the long arc of malaria out of tropical Africa into Eurasia, its transfer to the Americas during the early years of the Columbian exchange, and its retraction from the middle latitudes into the tropics since the late nineteenth century. Adopting a broadly comparative approach to historical patterns and processes, it synthesizes research findings from the natural and social sciences and weaves these understandings into a narrative that reaches from the earliest evidence of malarial infections in tropical Africa up to the present. Written in a style that is easily accessible to nonspecialists, it considers the significance of genetic mutations, diet, lifestyle, migration, warfare, palliative and curative treatment, and efforts to interrupt transmission on the global distribution of malaria.

Contents:

Early tropical Africa

Into Eurasia

Into the Americas

Bitter medicines

Toward global public health

Africa redux.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-228) and index.

ISBN:

9780521854184

0521854180

9780521670128

0521670128

OCLC:

228569383