Malaria epidemics in Europe after the First World War: the early stages of an international approach to the control of the disease

The severity and endemicity of malaria declined gradually in Europe until WWI. During and after the war, the number of malaria cases increased substantially and peaked in 1922-1924. This prompted the Hygiene Commission of the League of Nations to establish a Malaria Commission in 1923 to define the most efficient anti-malaria procedures. Additionally, between 1924 and 1930 there were several international meetings and collaborations concerning malaria, which involved the main institutes of parasitology and the Rockefeller Foundation. The Commission reports, the guidelines for anti-malaria campaigns and the scientific programs which came out of these meetings and collaborations are analyzed in the present paper.

The reception by French physicians of Chagas' discovery of Trypanosoma cruzi and American trypanosomiasis (1909-1925) / A recepção dos médicos franceses à descoberta do Tripanosoma cruzi e da tripanosomíase americana (1909-1925) por Carlos Chagas

As soon as they were published early in 1909, Chagas's articles on Trypanosoma cruzi and American trypanosomiasis became the topic of discussions in France. The description of T. cruzi and Chagas disease was added to parasitology textbooks as early as 1912, and elicited active research, particularly on the part of French parasitologist Emile Brumpt. He contributed towards eluciding the lifecycle of T. cruzi and the different ways it could infect humans. Laboratory research on T. cruzi was interrupted by First World War and was not resumed afterwards on the same scale, although interest in the epidemiology of Chagas disease continued.

Assim que os artigos de Carlos Chagas sobre o Tripanosoma cruzi e a tripanosomíase americana foram publicados em 1909, passaram a ser tema de discussões na França. A descrição do T. cruzi e da doença de Chagas foram adicionadas a livros de parasitologia ainda em 1912, e ajudaram a elucidar pesquisas, particularmente as que vinham sendo desenvolvidas pelo parasitologista Emile Brumpt. Ele contribuiu para o esclarecimento do ciclo de vida do T. cruzi e as diferentes maneiras que poderiam infectar osseres humanos. Pesquisa de laboratório sobre o T. cruzi foi interrompida durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial e não foi retomada mais tarde na mesma escala, a despeito do fato de os estudos epidemiológicos sobre a doença de Chagas continuarem despertando muito interesse.