More than a half century of malaria research at IHMT

• Authors: Arez AP, Nogueira F, Silveira H
• Publication Year: 2015
• Journal: Anais do Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical
• Link: http://ihmtweb.ihmt.unl.pt/PublicacoesFB/Anais/Anais2014/files/assets/basic-html/page-7.html

Malaria is a parasitic infection transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Five species of the genus Plasmodium cause disease in humans: P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. knowlesi e P. falciparum being the last, the one that causes most mortality and morbidity. During 1950s and early 1960s, the global eradication of malaria was believed possible, but the successively implemented eradication­programmes failed and eradication was achieved only in Europe and during the 1970’s. As a consequence of the historical presence of Portugal in malaria endemic areas and due to the fact that malaria was also a health problem in Portugal, Portuguese scientists namely from IHMT, had a very relevant role in the study and control of malaria. IHMT kept a regular monitoring of the disease from 1950 onward, mostly in Angola, Mozambique and São Tomé e Príncipe.With end of the colonial rule and with the creation of CMDT in 1992, the study of malaria in IHMT took a more research­oriented turn.