On World Mosquito Day August 20, some students of Secunderabad found themselves at an important venue. They were taken on a field visit to the Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Parasitology at Begumpet, where the vital discovery regarding the transmission of Malaria was made in 1897. More than a century ago Sir Ronald Ross had carried out his research at this very premises which then housed an Army Hospital. Being a Doctor with the Indian Medical Service (IMS) he was determined to tackle the diseases that were prevalent in India. Malaria was responsible for several deaths in tropical countries in the 1800's and it was widely speculated to be caused by infected drinking water. It was only after his years of painstaking experiments that it became known to the world that Malaria is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito bite and this paved the way to implement measures to check its spread. Ronald Ross convinced the world that to avoid the mosquito bite was the important step to control malaria.
Many African, European and Mediterranean countries benefitted from his advice and hence he was chosen for the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1902. Unfortunately, this discovery and the great man behind it are rarely remembered. Many of us drive past the Secunderabad KIMS Hospital unaware that this is known as the Ronald Ross Road. There is also an avenue dedicated to him on the Osmania University campus and the Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases at Nallakunta.
Inspired
Says Saurav Tripati of Std. X Kendriya Vidyalaya II Uppal, “I had no idea that such a great discovery was made right here in Secunderabad. It was interesting to learn about the malarial life cycle and I was inspired by the message of the Chief Guest, Educationist Chukka Rammayya, that Science must be used for human welfare and only for positive purposes.”
For a brief insight into the life of Sir Ronald Ross and his dedication to solve the mystery of malaria for humanity, a visit to the Institute is a must.
Widely prevalent Dengue, Chickangunya and Malaria are all spread by mosquitoes, a good reason why even in today's world one cannot ignore mosquito matters! Institutions interested in a visit to this Memorial centre can contact 9247836090.
