Landscapes of Disease

Gardikas, Katerina

Published by Central European University Press

Gardikas, Katerina.
Landscapes of Disease: Malaria in Modern Greece.
1st ed. Central European University Press, 2018.
Project MUSE.muse.jhu.edu/book/57982.

For additional information about this book

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 CEU Press Studies in the CEU Press Studies in the
History of Medicine History of Medicine

L
History
of
Medicine
Malaria has existed in Greece since prehistoric times.
Its prevalence fluctuated depending on climatic, so-
cioeconomic and political changes. The book focuses
Katerina Gardikas

Landscapes of Disease
on the factors that contributed to the spreading of the
disease in the years between independent statehood in

A b o u t t h e A u t h o r
Katerina Gardikas is associate professor in Mod-
ern Greek History. She worked as a researcher at
the Centre for Modern Greek Research of the Hel-
lenic National Research Foundation and taught at
the Democritus University of Thrace and the Aris-
totle University of Thessaloniki. She taught at the
Landscapes of Disease
1830 and the elimination of malaria in the 1970s.
By the nineteenth century, Greece was the most ma-
larious country in Europe and the one most heavily in- Malaria in Modern Greece
fected with its lethal form, falciparum malaria. Owing
to pressures on the environment from economic devel- C o n t e n t s
opment, agrarian colonization and heightened mobili- List of Tables
ty, the situation became so serious that malaria became List of Figures
a routine part of everyday life for practically all Greek List of Maps
families, further exacerbated by wars. The country’s highly fragmented geography and its vari- Acknowledgements
Introduction
able rainfall distribution created an environment that was ideal for sustaining and spreading
of diseases, which, in turn, affected the tolerance of the population to malaria. In their struggle chapter i
with physical suffering and death, the Greeks developed a culture of avid quinine consump- Malaria: An Ancient and Global Disease
tion and were likewise eager to embrace the DDT spraying campaign of the immediate post chapter ii
WW II years, which, overall, had a positive demographic effect. The Fragmented Geography of the Disease
chapter iii
“The role of malaria as a widespread disease in modern Greece is a highly intriguing topic both Malaria in Peace and War
of social history and medical history, given the fact alone that in the interwar period one fifth to

Katerina Gardikas
chapter iv
University of Athens since 2001. one quarter of the world production of quinine was consumed in Greece. The present study is By the nineteenth century, Greece was the most malarious country in Europe and the Patients, Doctors, and Cures
not simply a concise historical description of the role of malaria from the early 19th century un- one most heavily infected with its lethal form, falciparum malaria. Owing to pressures Conclusions
til the mid-1870s, when eradication of this disease in Greece was achieved; it also gives insight Appendices
in the volatility of this parasitic disease due to changing ecological context and various forms
on the environment from economic development, agrarian colonization and heightened
Bibliography
of human interference or neglect.” mobility, the situation became so serious that malaria became a routine part of everyday Appendix
life for practically all Greek families, further exacerbated by wars. The country’s highly Name Index
Christian Promitzer, Assistant Professor of History
Subject Index
of Southeastern Europe at the University of Graz fragmented geography and its variable rainfall distribution created an environment that
was ideal for sustaining and spreading of diseases, which, in turn, affected the toler-
ance of the population to malaria. In their struggle with physical suffering and death,
the Greeks developed a culture of avid quinine consumption and were likewise eager to
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