Malaria can be traced back at least 3000~4000 years ago. Some symptoms of malaria, such as periodic fever, chills, sweating and splenomegaly, are recorded in China, Indian or Egyptian medical classics. In the1800s, about 300 million people in the world suffered from malaria every year, and 3 million people died of malaria. Although people in 1800 had the concept of infectious disease compared with ancient times when malaria was blamed on the evil spirits or furuncle, the transmission route of malaria was still an unsolved mystery at that time.

The high incidence rate in tropical areas is considered as "malaria" with furuncle.

Many famous people died of malaria in history. For example, Alexander the Great, who founded the world's first empire across Europe, Asia and Africa, and Dante, a famous Italian poet and author of The Divine Comedy during the Renaissance, all died of malaria. This disease is very popular all over the world, especially in the tropics, so it is considered as furuncle gas. Many scientists who study tropical medicine also want to solve the mystery of malaria and think it is furuncle gas.

Charles louis alphonse laveran, an expert in tropical medicine, discovered plasmodium in the blood of malaria patients in 1880, while patrick manson, the father of British tropical medicine, inferred that mosquitoes were the disseminators of filariasis pathogens according to malaria pathogens, and put forward the hypothesis that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes in 1893.

Malaria was confirmed to be infected by mosquito bites and was born in ronald ross, India, because 654.38+million people died of malaria every year at that time, and later they became interested in malaria. He met patrick manson, the father of British tropical medicine, and was influenced by the hypothesis that malaria was spread by mosquitoes, so he began to study malaria. He first proved that drinking water polluted by infected mosquitoes or larvae would not cause malaria. Later, he learned to identify mosquito species. After feeding Culex pipiens and Aedes mosquitoes hatched by larvae to malaria patients, no response of plasmodium was observed.

It was not until1August 20th, 897 that Ronald Ross used Anopheles to feed on malaria patients. After feeding and dissection, he finally found plasmodium in the stomach cavity and wall of Anopheles, which later became World Mosquito Day. 1898, he studied the life history of plasmodium in birds suffering from malaria, observed the sporozoites of plasmodium in the salivary glands of mosquitoes, confirmed that mosquitoes are the vectors of malaria transmission, and drew the transmission route of plasmodium. Related papers were published in the British Medical Journal of 1897+February18.

Two years later, 1899, ronald ross led an expedition to West Africa where malaria was rampant. After three months of field investigation, he finally found the oocysts of human plasmodium in the gastrointestinal tract of mosquitoes, which further confirmed that malaria was spread by Anopheles mosquitoes.

Contribution to malaria epidemiological investigation and evaluation methods

Ronald ross conducted extensive field surveys in Suez Canal area, Greece, Mauritius, Cyprus and other malaria endemic areas in Africa, and found the relationship between malaria and mosquitoes. It was found that mosquitoes breed in water and plasmodium infects patients by mosquitoes. And helped establish a mathematical model for epidemiological research. Forty years later, the foundation established in ronald ross constituted the epidemiological research method of insect-borne diseases.