IX] MALARIA 119 



CHAPTER IX 



ANOPHELINE-TRANSMITTED DISEASES 



MALARIA. 



Synonyms. Ague, Paludism, Intermittent fever, Remit- 

 tent fever ; Marsh, Climatic, Jungle, Hill, Mountain and 

 Coast fever, Plasmodiose, Fievre palustre, Wechselfieber, 

 Kaltesfieber, riupero?, Bimhi ou Moustique (Galla), Mbou ou 

 Moustique, and also many local names such as Roman fever. 

 Sierra fever, etc., etc. 



Definition. Under the term malaria is grouped together 

 a number of intermittent fevers caused by plasmodial parasites 

 living in the red blood corpuscles At the present time only 

 three distinct species of these parasites are usually recognized, 

 viz. Plasmodium malarice, P. vivax, and P. falciparum ( = La- 

 verania malarice) ; each gives rise to a distinct type of fever 

 and is transmitted by various Anopheline mosquitoes. 



The common features of the disease, in addition to fever, 

 are anaemia, hypertrophy of the spleen, and sometimes the 

 liver, and the deposition of pigment (melanin) in the various 

 organs and integument. 



Historical. The periodicity of the febrile attacks of 

 malaria had attracted attention long before the parasitic 

 nature of this disease was known, or its transmission by mos- 

 quitoes suspected. Certain references have been taken as 

 shewing that malaria was recognized even in the time of Homer 

 (iioo B.C.) and in the Hippocratic Books (500 B.C.) fevers 

 having quotidian, tertian and quartan periodicity are described. 

 This characteristic periodicity, which finds expression in the 

 term intermittent fever, even now sometimes used, represented, 

 however, practically everything that was known about the 

 disease in these early times, 



A much more precise knowledge of malaria and a clear 

 recognition of remittent and pernicious forms of the disease, 

 where periodicity is not a feature, followed the introduction 



