Description
Title: Malaria Frontline – Australian Army Research During World War II
Author: Sweeney, Tony
Condition: Near Mint
Edition: 1st Edition
Publication Date: 2003
ISBN: 0522850332
Cover: Soft Cover without Dust Jacket – 354 pages
Comments: During WWII the hidden killer, malaria, was one of the most powerful enemies of Australian troops in the South-West Pacific. Malaria casualties during 1942 and 1943 were so serious that the Australian War Cabinet thought there would be insufficient strength in the re-inforcements to hold the Japanese at bay.
In June 1943 the Australian Army formed as special research team, the Land Headquarters Medical Research Unit, under Neil Hamilton Fairley, to tackle the problem of malarial infection.
After extensive testing on volunteers and infected soldiers in Cairns it was discovered in 1944 that the drug Atebrin provided total protection, if taken every day. Rigid discipline was enforced and the result was the lowest incidence ever recorded of malarial outbreaks among troop in highly malarious environments for long periods. Atebrin helped turn the tide of war.
Tony Sweeny is an experienced entomologist whose research into malaria and mosquitoes has advanced the fight against the disease. He explains the breakthroughs that have enabled a continued fight against malaria worldwide.
