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Book Review
Code Number:OC97136
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Text: 4.6K
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Historical Aspects of American Trypanosomiasis (Chagas' Disease) Author: Matthias Perleth Publisher: Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, 1997, This is a welcomed addition to the literature in English available on the history of Chagas' disease. Carlos Chagas belonged to a group of talented Brazilians who under the leadership of Oswaldo Cruz became known as "the school of Manguinhos". This group, whose best known members include Artur Neiva, Henrique Aragao, Adolpho Lutz, Esequiel Dias, and Gaspar Vianna, also had many other scientists who made important contributions to tropical medicine. Carlos Chagas, by his discovery of American trypanosomiasis, is probably the most famous member of the school. The history of Chagas' disease is traced, in this book, in the context of the emergence of modern medicine in Brazil. The book is based on an extensive literature search and archive studies carried out by the author, for his thesis, at the Hannover Medical School under the orientation of Prof Wolfgang Eckart. It is divided into six chapters each on beginning with a brief overview and ending with a summary. The first chapter provides a good general overview of Chagas'disease. It briefly describes the infectious agent Trypanosoma cruzi, the mode of transmission, the clinical manifestations, control and socioeconomic significance. Selected literature highlighting new contributions (to 1994) is reviewed. In the second chapter a historical overview of the ecological and epidemiological aspects of the disease is presented. However little importance is attached to the discovery of the transmission of T. cruzi by the anal glands of the opossum. This important discovery by Maria Deane and her collaborators is mis-attributed and relegated to a footnote. Interestingly, the occurrence of "mal d'engasgo" is used to review the expansion of the disease up to the discovery of the etiological agent in 1909. Chapter 3 deals with the evolution of medical science in Brazil, the history of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute and the scientific development of Carlos Chagas, up to the discovery of American trypanosomiasis. The discovery of Chagas'disease is described in chapter 4. This discovery has been termed unique in the annals of medicine due to the reverse order in which first the etiological agent and then the disease was described. The author's research in the archives of the Max-Planck society lead him to propose a strong influence of the German protozoologist Fritz Schaudinn on the parasitological studies of Carlos Chagas. Early research on Chagas' disease is described in chapter 5. The extraordinary contribution of Carlos Chagas and other members of the school of Manguinhos to the description of the disease and the elucidation of its principal aspects in a relatively short period of time are apparent. The final chapter analyzes the impact of this scientific contribution on the public health movement of Brazil in the 1920's. The opposition of traditional "hygienists" to the concepts promoted concerning the new disease led to a general neglect towards the subject. This trend was only reverted in later years by the "rediscovery" of Chagas' disease by Mazza in Argentina. This book is publication 43 in the series Medizin in Entwicklungslandern (Medical Care in Developing Countries) published by Peter Lang. Most books in this series are published in German and this publication is one of the few titles available in English. The lack of familiarity with the English language is reflected in the numerous typographic and grammatical errors that occur throughout the text and detract from what is otherwise a useful text. The book brings to the attention of a wider audience a great deal of information about Chagas' disease and events and personalities involved in the heroic age of the Brazilian public health movement that are generally only known to those familiar with the Portuguese language as well as providing original contributions from the authors own research. It is a commendable effort. Hooman Momen
Copyright 1997 Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz |
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