African Highway—The Battle for Health in Central Africa

Abstract

This is a remarkable book. Into it Sir Malcolm Watson has distilled a half century of experience in tropical sanitation, and he presents a philosophy refreshingly different from that usually adopted in relation to disease control in the tropics and among relatively primitive people.A large part of the book is devoted to malaria control, but other diseases in central Africa are discussed. Basically, if malaria is controlled on the one hand, and the enteric infections are controlled on the other, a long step has been taken toward a reasonably healthful existence for both the white and colored races in the tropics.The book is also important in its consideration of the relation of health to the economy of the area, in its understanding that sanitation must be adapted not only to climate and other environmental factors, but also to the mores and customs of the people affected. Its constant attention to the ecology of the local mosquito species in relation to control measures is also most valuable.