Malaria Remains Unshaken and the Mighty Mosquito Remains Unbeaten

Prof. (Dr.) P. K. Rajagopalan

Prof. (Dr.) P. K. Rajagopalan Former Director, Vector Control Research Center, Indian Council of Medical Research and formerly: WHO STAC Member, WHO Consultant and WHO Expert Committee Member on Malaria, Filariasis and Vector Control. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8324-3096

Abstract

Fighting malaria has very little to do with the intricacies of science and biology. The key was learning to think like the men hired to go door-to-door and stream-to-stream, killing mosquitoes. Do you think we should think like a mosquito? No, said Fred Soper, who eliminated Aedes aegypti from Panama Canal Zone and Anopheles gambiae from Brazil. His method was to apply motivation, discipline, organization, and zeal, in understanding human nature to achieve the objectives. This was the crux of the malaria control programme. He was considered the General Patton of Entomology. If any Indian can be compared to Soper, it can be only T. Ramachandra Rao.