No Magic Bullet in Fighting Malaria

The latest Journal of the American Medical Association reviews "The Making of a Tropical Disease—A Short History of Malaria" by Randall Packard, a medical historian at Johns Hopkins University. Says reviewer Markley Boyer of Tufts:

Now that The Gates Foundation, Ted Turner, and the Bush administration have all decided to eliminate malaria from the world, many health workers (especially those at the recent Gates-sponsored "Eradicate Malaria" convocation in Seattle, Washington) should read and reflect on the lessons presented in this excellent monograph . . . Most practitioners are first-rate at understanding the pathology of the illness and how to therapeutically interrupt its course, but they are unusually poor at comprehending that diseases like malaria are ultimately controlled by larger social, economic, and political factors. AIDS, obesity, heart disease, and tuberculosis are among those maladies that are hopelessly dependent on extramedical forces. Until researchers accept that there is more to health than the creation of some medicinal 'magic bullet,' they are doomed, in F. Scott Fitzgerald's well-known words, to 'beat on, ceaselessly, boats against the current . . . ,' with little impact on the disease itself. Packard's book reminds readers—through the lessons of history—of the factors that must be addressed before malaria can be controlled, let alone eradicated.

I interviewed author Packard a few years ago while writing about malaria for The Scientist magazine. I was very impressed by his level-headed analysis of the current situation, and his deep understanding of the past. If someone sends me a copy, I will definitely review it for this or any space.