Basic Malariology
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Date
2018
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جامعة الشيخ عبدالله البدري
Abstract
Recognizable descriptions of malaria were recorded in Chinese, Indian, Egyptian and
Mesopotamian texts as early as 5,000 years ago. Evidence from human DNA sequences shows
the effects of malaria to be far older still, influencing human evolution across tens of thousands
of years. It is no exaggeration to say that malaria has played a crucial role in human history,
determining the fates of armies and empires. Malaria brought down Alexander the Great and
saved Rome from Attila's hordes. Dubbed the 'King of Diseases' in the Vedas, its modern name
comes from the Italian peninsula, where mal'aria or 'bad air' was thought to cause the debilitating
paroxysmal tertian or quartan (three- or four-day) fevers and febrile deaths that ravaged the
populace every year for millennia.