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Each year the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine celebrates Mosquito Day to honour a crucial malaria discovery
Each year on Aug. 20 the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) celebrates Mosquito Day to honour the date in 1897 when British doctor Ronald Ross discovered that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between human beings. Ross was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1902 for his discovery.
Malaria, a preventable and curable disease, caused an estimated 655,000 deaths in 2010, mostly among African children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
A Mosquito Day party held on Thursday evening at LSHTM was inspired by a tea party held in Ross’s honour at the Ross Institute on Aug. 20, 1931. The Ross Institute was absorbed into LSHTM in 1934.
This year, as part of its celebrations, LSHTM has put together an exhibition which includes the notebook in which Ross recorded the discovery.
Frieda Midgley, archivist and records manager at LSHTM, spoke to AlertNet outside the school.
For more about World Mosquito Day visit YouTrust
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