Barrett, M. P. and Giordani, F. (2017) Inside Doctor Livingstone: a Scottish icon's encounter with tropical disease. Parasitology, 144(12), pp. 1652-1662. (doi: 10.1017/S003118201600202X) (PMID:27928980)
|
Text
132981.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 389kB |
Abstract
Dr David Livingstone died on May 1st 1873. He was 60 years old and had spent much of the previous 30 years walking across large stretches of Southern Africa, exploring the terrain he hoped could provide new environments in which Europeans and Africans could cohabit on equal terms and bring prosperity to a part of the world he saw ravaged by the slave trade. Just days before he died, he wrote in his journal about the permanent stream of blood that he was emitting related to haemorrhoids and the acute intestinal pain that had left him incapable of walking. What actually killed Livingstone is unknown, yet the years spent exploring sub-Saharan Africa undoubtedly exposed him to a gamut of parasitic and other infectious diseases. Some of these we can be certain of. He wrote prolifically and described his encounters with malaria, relapsing fevers, parasitic helminths and more. His graphic writing allows us to explore his own encounters with tropical diseases and how European visitors to Africa considered them at this time. This paper outlines Livingstone's life and his contributions to understanding parasitic diseases.
Item Type: | Articles |
---|---|
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Giordani, Dr Federica and Barrett, Professor Michael |
Authors: | Barrett, M. P., and Giordani, F. |
College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity |
Journal Name: | Parasitology |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
ISSN: | 0031-1820 |
ISSN (Online): | 1469-8161 |
Published Online: | 08 December 2016 |
Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2017 Cambridge University Press |
First Published: | First published in Parasitology 144(12):1652-1662 |
Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons license |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record