Every August 20th, people all over the world acknowledge British doctor Ronald Ross, the scientist who discovered that mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting malaria from person to person. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest illnesses, killing approximately 655,000 people every year. Before science tracked down the root cause of malaria, it was thought that it was an airborne sickness carried along by dirty air. The word "malaria" was originated with the Italian words for "bad" and "air.".
In 1880, French scientist Charles Leveran identified the parasite plasmodium in the blood of patients and determined that it infected the blood stream with malaria. But neither scientists of doctors could solve the mystery of how malaria was transmitted from person to person.
Dr. Ronald Ross began to suspect that malaria was being passed along by mosquitoes, and in 1897, he began dissecting mosquitoes. When the he tested the human blood found in the stomachs of these insects, he found the plasmodium parasite. This proved, without a doubt, that mosquitoes were the transporters of this infectious disease. .
"The 20 August, 1897. It was a cloudy, dull, hot day. I went to hospital to dissect the cadaver (of a mosquito), but found nothing new in it. I was tired and what was the use? But the Angel of Fate fortunately laid his hand on my head; and I had scarcely commenced the search again when I saw a clear and almost perfectly circular outline before me of about 12 microns in diameter. In each of these cells, there was a cluster of small granules, black as jet and exactly like the black pigment granules of the plasmodium crescents. I laughed, and shouted for the Hospital Assistant." (Dr. Ronald Ross, from his personal journal).
Dr. Ross had laid a new foundation for science in the prevention and treatment of malaria and in 1902, he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his life-saving discovery.
