20 DDT— Killer of Killers 



Whether cinchona bark was first used by the South 

 American Indians or whether the Jesuits deserve credit for 

 discovering its magical properties is of no importance. But 

 since about the year 1630, the bark itself, or quinine, the ac- 

 tive principal extracted from the bark, has alleviated the 

 sufferings of untold millions. Today, when armies move 

 into malaria-ridden districts, everyone is given his daily dose 

 of quinine or the synthetic atebrin, and we all thrill to stories 

 of jungle explorers calmly taking quinine pills while fighting 

 wild animals and poisonous snakes. Quinine is not the per- 

 fect answer to malaria control. In fact, it is probably in- 

 correct to say that quinine "cures" the disease. If one takes 

 quinine regularly before he enters a malaria-infested district, 

 and if he keeps up the treatment while he is there, the chances 

 are that he will not get the disease — but he can't be sure, for 

 some individuals become infeaed in spite of quinine pro- 

 phylaxis. After one has contracted malaria, quinine treat- 

 ment will lessen the severity of the disease, but it will not 

 eradicate it. 



The story of quinine is very much like that of rubber. 

 For over two hundred years after cinchona bark was first used 

 in the treatment of malaria, the world had to depend entirely 

 for its supply on the wild trees of South America. Then the 

 situation changed. Sir Clements Markham went to South 

 America with an expedition in I860 and procured over 400 

 cinchona plants and a number of seeds, with which he started 

 plantations in India. And two years later a Dutch expedi- 

 tion under a botanist by the name of Hasskarl managed to 

 get out of South America with about 500 cinchona plants 

 and a number of seeds. Two plants survived the journey to 

 Java where they were planted, along with the seeds, to start 

 the cinchona industry in the Netherlands Indies. 



