Ronald Ross was born in India in 1857 at Almora district in Uttarakhand. His father was a General in the British Army in India. Ross lived in India until he was eight. He was sent to a boarding school in England. He later studied medicine from St. Bartholomew Hospital in London.
When Ross was a small boy, he saw many people in India fall ill with malaria. At least a million people would die of malaria due to lack of proper medication. While Ross was in India his father fell seriously ill with malaria, but fortunately recovered. This deadly disease left an impression in his mind. When Ross returned to India as part of the British-Indian medical services, he was sent to Madras where a large part of his work included treating malaria patients in the army.
Ronald Ross proved in 1897 the long-suspected link between mosquitoes and malaria. In doing so he confirmed the hypotheses previously put forward independently by scientists Alphonse Laveran and Sir Patrick.
Till that time it was believed that malaria was caused by breathing in bad air and living in a hot, humid and marshy environment. Ross studied malaria between 1882 and 1899.
While posted in Ooty, he fell ill with malaria. After this, he was transferred to the medical school in Osmania University, Secunderabad. He discovered the presence to the malarial parasite within a specific species of mosquito, of the genus Anopheles. He initially called them Dapple-wings.
Ross made his crucial discovery while dissecting the stomach of a mosquito fed on the blood of a malaria victim. He found the previously observed parasite. Through further study, he established the complete life cycle of this parasite. He contributed majorly to the epidemiology of malaria and brought a method to its survey and assessment. Most importantly he made mathematical models for further study.
In 1902, Ross was awarded the
Comments