INDIGENOUS TREATMENT OF MALARIA
Jessa Davis
Dr. Aswini Pai, Faculty Mentor
St. Lawrence University McNair Scholars Program
Malaria has been infecting humans for over a million years and continues to afflict 300-500 million people annually throughout South America, Africa, and Asia. Treatment follows two possible courses: indigenous medicine (bush medicine) or modern treatment. Poverty in many developing nations restricts the availability of health care, particularly in rural areas where care and modern knowledge of disease is limited. Indigenous methods of health care remain predominant in such areas, as well as cultural beliefs and practices that influence both modern and traditional medicines. Currently, such indigenous knowledge is being jeopardized due to modernization of rural communities. This paper identifies factors contributing to the loss of indigenous healing knowledge and examines religious practices and cultural beliefs associated with preparation of medicine or malaria itself.