Fighting the fever : kala-azar in Eastern India, 1870s-1940s / Achintya Kumar Dutta.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dutta, Achintya Kumar, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Kala-azar--India--History--19th century.

Kala-azar.

Kala-azar--India--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxiii, 388 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2025.

Summary:

The book investigates certain obscure but important aspects of the social history of disease and medicine in colonial eastern India, covering Assam, Bengal, and Bihar and Orissa-against the backdrop of the outbreak of a lethal disease called kala-azar, or black fever, scientifically known as visceral leishmaniasis, which spread its wings as an epidemic from the 1870s-and chisels out the interaction between the microbe behind the disease and medical interventionism on the one hand and health officials and the state on the other. The book does not narrate a simple account of disease and health. Instead, it analyses the social history of kala-azar in British east India in addition to revealing the hitherto undiscovered areas of research in the field of medical history.

Contents:

Cover

Fighting the Fever

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Figures

List of Maps

List of Tables

Preface and Acknowledgements

Note on Permissions

List of Abbreviations

Introduction

Notes and References

1 Kala-azar: A Disease Sui Generis

Introducing the Disease

A 'Bad Form of Malaria'?

Scientists and the Disease: Leishman-Donovan and Leishmania donovani

A New Milestone in Medical Science: Dynamism in Disease Understanding

Donovan: A Victim of Professional Rivalry?

Incidence of the Kala-azar Disease in India

Kala-azar: A Tropical or Global Disease?

Colonialism and Epidemic Diseases

Conclusion

2 Medical Intervention and Containment of Epidemics

Epidemics and Colonial Policies

Malaria

Plague

Smallpox

Cholera

Tuberculosis

The Containment of Kala-azar: Success and Shortcomings

Health Policy, Disease, and Public Health

Sanitary Measures

Low Budget and Public Health

Local Self-government and Health

Indigenous Response

3 Agony of Assam: Defeating the Dreadful Kala-azar

A Brief History of Assam: The Condition of the People and the Outbreak of Disease

Disease Environment

Kala-azar: A Devastating Disease

Impact on the Population

Medical Intervention and Fighting the Disease

Pre-chemotherapy Period

Chemotherapy Days

Decline in Mortality: Why and How

The Other Side of the Story

People's Response

4 Bengal's Black Fever Burden: Beating the Disease

A Peep into the History of Bengal: People and Public Health

Incidence and Epidemiology of Kala-azar

Medical Intervention and Its Effectiveness: A Critical Analysis

Dearth of Resources

Financial Deficiency

Sanitation

Indigenous Response and Reaction.

Reaction of the Indigenous Medical Practitioners and Homoeopaths

5 'Black Sigh' in Bihar: Experiences and Responses

People and Public Health

The Entry of Kala-azar into Bihar

Kala-azar Tidings/Episodes

Medical Procedure: Preventive and Curative

Deficiencies in Containment Policy

Popular Reaction

6 From Tartar Emetic to Urea Stibamine: Medical Research on Kala-azar and Its Fruition

Beginning of Medical Research

Government's Response to Medical Exploration

Groundwork on Kala-azar Cure

Structural Changes in the Knowledge of Chemotherapy

Research Impact and Disease Prevention

7 The Unsung Hero: The Genius of Upendra Nath Brahmachari

A Short Biography

A Successful Inventor

Effectiveness of Urea Stibamine

Contribution to Modern Medical Science

A Drug Manufacturer

Other Achievements

Appendix: Number of Kala-azar Patients Admitted for Treatment in Bengal

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 14 Feb 2025).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781009568197

1009568191

9781009568180

1009568183

OCLC:

1431226062