| Ronald Ross' Handkerchief | |
|---|---|
| |
|
Origin |
Ronald Ross |
|
Type |
Handkerchief |
|
Effects |
Spreads malaria |
|
Activation |
Blowing on it |
|
Collected by |
Warehouse 13 |
|
Section |
|
|
Aisle |
973498-34284 |
|
Shelf |
5382-42354-92002 |
|
Date of Collection |
1925 |
| [Source] | |
Origin[]
Sir Ronald Ross (1857 - 1932) was a British medical doctor who received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1902 for his work on the transmission of malaria, becoming the first British Nobel laureate. Ross was the person who discovered the malarial parasite inside a mosquito, which proved that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoes. Most of his work took place outside of Britain when he was transferred to Bombay, India then a malaria-free zone of Kherwara, Rajputana (now Rajasthan).
Considering his life work was in malaria and he was now in a place that didn't have the disease he felt his life work was over. However a friend, Patrick Manson, who worked for the government requested that Ross be transferred to the Presidency General Hospital. While there his interest went from mosquitoes to birds as he discovered that the parasites on the birds were very closely related to the human malarial parasites. Eventually he discovered that the malaria parasite was released from the salivary gland when bitten by the insects. That breakthrough meant he discovered the complete life cycle of the malarial parasite, thus earning the Nobel Prize.
Effects[]
Spreads malaria until deactivated (Activated by blowing on it, deactivated in response to burning or disinfection with sterile cleansers). Found to increase the presence of mosquito larvae in the surrounding area, either attracting neighboring pests or fast-tracking their life cycles.