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American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 155, No. 7 : 680
Copyright © 2002 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health

BOOK REVIEWS

From the Editor

Warren Winkelstein, Jr.

Usually these notes are dedicated to the consideration of books about issues relevant to epidemiology. However, now I want to draw your attention to a historical vignette that, in two pages, concisely reviews the life and work of one of the most influential biomedical scientists of the 20th century, Sir Ronald Ross (1Go). Ross received the Nobel Prize for demonstrating that mosquitos transmit malaria. Bynum, the author of this vignette, succinctly describes the avuncular role of Patrick Manson as Ross's mentor as well as the practical problems that had to be overcome before the mechanism of transmission could be established definitively. Subsequently, Ross pioneered the development of mathematical models to describe the dynamics of malaria transmission and explored the economic consequences of malaria control to demonstrate the relative efficiency of prevention.

Bynum (1Go) identified three facets of Ross's contribution to malaria control that have broader implications for public health and epidemiology:

  1. His "cost/benefit" approach to the control of malaria, indicating the substantial advantage of prevention, was interpretable in hard economic terms. That is, costs incurred for mosquito control were far lower than the cost of treating and burying soldiers and civilians. Obviously, this approach has application for many diseases but, unfortunately, is not frequently invoked.
  2. Ross was a strong advocate of the "targeted" approach to disease control. He believed that if the pathogenesis and epidemiology of a disease could be elicited, control of the disease could be organized rationally.
  3. Through his longtime editorship of the journal Science Progress, Ross advocated the social value of biomedical research. He believed that scientists should be held in high regard and be rewarded adequately. He also, through his journal, promoted public understanding of science.

I think you will find this brief article (1Go) readable, useful, and particularly valuable as an introduction to a more comprehensive study of the life and work of Sir Ronald Ross.

REFERENCES

  1. Bynum WF. Mosquitoes bite more than once. Science 2002;295:47–8.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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This Article
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