The Malaria Project: The U.S. Government's Secret Mission to Find a Miracle Cure

by Karen Masterson

A fascinating and shocking historical exposé, The Malaria Project is the story of America's secret mission to combat malaria during World War II—a campaign modeled after a German project which tested experimental drugs on men gone mad from syphilis.

American war planners, foreseeing the tactical need for a malaria drug, recreated the German model, then grew it tenfold. Quickly becoming the biggest and most important medical initiative of the war, the project tasked dozens of the country’s top research scientists and university labs to find a treatment to remedy half a million U.S. troops incapacitated by malaria.

Spearheading the new U.S. effort was Dr. Lowell T. Coggeshall, the son of a poor Indiana farmer whose persistent drive and curiosity led him to become one of the most innovative thinkers in solving the malaria problem. He recruited private corporations, such as today's Squibb and Eli Lilly, and the nation’s best chemists out of Harvard and Johns Hopkins to make novel compounds that skilled technicians tested on birds. Giants in the field of clinical research, including the future NIH director James Shannon, then tested the drugs on mental health patients and convicted criminals—including infamous murderer Nathan Leopold.

By 1943, a dozen strains of malaria brought home in the veins of sick soldiers were injected into these human guinea pigs for drug studies. After hundreds of trials and many deaths, they found their “magic bullet,” but not in a U.S. laboratory. America 's best weapon against malaria, still used today, was captured in battle from the Nazis. Called chloroquine, it went on to save more lives than any other drug in history.

Karen M. Masterson, a journalist turned malaria researcher, uncovers the complete story behind this dark tale of science, medicine and war. Illuminating, riveting and surprising, The Malaria Project captures the ethical perils of seeking treatments for disease while ignoring the human condition.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Medical

416 pages, Hardcover

First published October 7, 2014

Reviews

[Maha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I am an expert on malaria, and I did my PhD studying the genomics of the parasite, I was totally oblivious of the hideous history of scientific research on Malaria.

This book will make you think! in fact as a scientist I think I even feel a heart ache. We haven't cured malaria! we haven't eliminated it. our life style has. We are no longer exposed to it since we have air conditions and decent nets on our windows that malaria is no longer a threat. urbanization drives malaria away. Yes of course the global campaings did achieve certain successes but Malaria still has no effective drug to totally treat it, and no effective vaccine after nearly 70 years of global funds.

Now looking back in time, how many souls suffered, prisoners, women, children, jews, africans ... its remarkable that no one knows much about such dyre past!

Karen did her homework, she dug deep into US records, so went the 22 yards to complete the portrait with human touches. how the world war I and II drove the malaria fight. How companies, governments conspire to reach the elexir of life that would eliminate infection. She did a fascinating job, and I think the book should be an elective read for anyone who works in science just to understand why we need the stringent rules we have today. If we can only have an Arabic similar book. Perhaps one day I will do what she did.

till then.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this, and as a malaria researcher, was interested to learn about the history. I knew malaria had been a problem in the war, but hadn't realised it was such a problem...

[Harry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read, and gave me a new respect for malaria. And a connection to syphilis that I never would have expected!

[Lionel Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malaria is a disease that has plagued people living in tropic and semitropic environments since the beginning of human history. It debilitates millions of people a year and is a scourage in the countries that can least afford to deal with it. This book documents the worldwide effort to eradicate or at least control the disease in the years leading up to and during World War II. When America went to war in the Pacific and as it fought Nazi forces in North Africa and Italy it had to fight another invisible enemy that could be just as deadly as the one that was shooting at them. Hordes of malaria-carrying mosquitoes swarmed soldiers and Marines camps often time taking thousands of men out of action as they struggle with the disease over and over caught in a cycle of infection recovery and relapse. The conditions of war ( mud puddles, trash, shell holes, and generally unsanitary conditions) made the spread that much quicker. Masterson states that in many battles in the Pacific one of the main determinants of who won was which army had the fewest soldiers debilitated by malaria. Because of this, stopping or at least controlling this disease was imperative.
The Malaria Project was the effort run by American scientists and the military in coordination with scientists from around the world to find a cure. Masterson does a great job of describing all of the different personalities involved as well as how many of them did not start their careers working with Malaria but fell into the work. This would would eventually include everyone from prestigious biomedical researchers to those debilitated by syphilis and even unwilling test subjects at Nazi death camps. This last point would lead to a serious ethical reckoning after the war as some of the methods were reexamined. The author does a good job of exploring all of these issues in a surprisingly neutral way and does not shy away from discussing the problems with venereal disease among soldiers and the fact that given the chance a large number of soldiers visited prostitutes and brothels. All of these were public health concerns that had to be treated with a combination of medical cures and encouraging people to change their behavior. As with so many of the health problems that we face, there is no one magic bullet cure that we can take once and be cured. What is needed is a combination of medicine and addressing the root causes of many diseases that thrive in conditions that are often exacerbated by poverty, war, ignorance, and superstition. The author does a good job of making this point as the battle with malaria is ongoing and while it has been driven back and even contained in many places, it is far from eradicated.
I would recommend this book for anyone interested in military or medical history or the history of WWII. The author has an engaging writing style that makes even technical topics interesting and easy to understand.

[Ulysse Colonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful book! If it made any sense, I’d easily rank it among the top 10 WWII books I’ve ever read because it brilliantly changes one’s perspective on what is hands-down the most written about conflict in history.

What to say? First it makes the US fight truly global as the same ideas and resources are applied from Liberia to Panama and from Guadalcanal to Anzio.

Second it shows how when it comes to medical research war is meshed with peacetime. There isn’t a day when everything changes, even when the president calls and puts millions to back up his ambition, scientists are still building on decades-old paradigms, patents and know-how.

Also very interesting is the way issues like logistics, imperial policies or development suddenly appear in discussions about the destruction of mosquitoes larvae. It genuinely opens the discussion and makes you palpably more intelligent.

More than anything else, I was moved but the sudden appearance of ethics in the debate. Things are not clear-cut, you didn’t have purely moral Americans on the one hand and dispicable Nazis on the other. Actually, the other shows, everyone’s policies when it comes to drug testing was very similar and nobody would have passed today’s ethic requirements. And yet, while both were wrong little details separate the bad practice in US jails and the absolute horror of the Dachau testing facilities. And these little details make a world of difference.

Anyway: a brilliant book, read it!

[Eric Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a comprehensive coverage of development of Human's understanding and treatment of Malaria during WWII.

I enjoy the parallel between American prison experiment and SS concentration camp one, and whether Shilling is guilty (or does he deserve to be hung). Also enjoy Masterson's illustration/explanation of war history.

The reason I rated the book three stars is that time to time, I found Masterson's narrative of historical episodes (e.g. trial of shilling) irrelevant to the central theme.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this account of the US government's work during WWII to suppress and find a cure for malaria fascinating. I had not realized how dramatically malaria impacted a number of major battles during WWII, nor had I understood the logistical complexities of testing malaria drugs. Quite fascinating reading, enlivened with connections to well-known characters like Ernie Pyle, General MacArthur, & even the infamous murderers Loeb and Leopold.

[Tom Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read on the development of antimalarials, environment measures to control mosquitoes, and the bioethics of using prisoners in medical research during WWII.

[Nicky Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book that uncovers a moment in history where the field of infectious disease is MUCH different than now. It’s hard to believe this is even nonfiction.

[Julie Walulik · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. A little to redundant at times but overall an informative read.

[Everett Dalesio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning story. Not just the story of Malaria in WW2 but extends well before and after that. How malaria was fought and beaten before in the US and the roll of the drugs that were developed during the war and their impact on the world more recently. During the war there are two stories, one which follows the tried and proven methods of malaria prevention which uses screens and bug spray which prevents spread and the tale of the malaria projects attempts to find silver bullet drugs to stop malaria. So gripping and so important to remember that silver bullets in health rarely exist. Just because solutions are harder to install don’t make them worse, as seen by the drug resistance that currently develops.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a history of the disease malaria, its effects on mankind, and the efforts to find a cure and eradicate the disease. Efforts by the US government [some questionable ethically] are also discussed.

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great and informative book. Much of the research was done and made more crucial because of WWII, with populations moving around the world and the environment ground up and made more habitable to mosquitoes by troop movement and shelling.
This author explores the topic from many angles: Africa, North America- post slavery, the Mediterranean, the Pacific front, and German and American experimentation on prisoners and the mentally ill.
Patent law and medical ethics are a focus and who owns what and who takes responsibility.
Overall an easy and engrossing read. The author knows how to tell a great story.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. Somewhat technical in parts, but anyone with some basic knowledge of biology should have no trouble. My only annoyance was that the author sometimes digressed more than needed. Sometimes the digressions were interesting, but sometimes they were distracting.

[Andrew Degruccio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really gives a comprehensive overview of medical research and it's influences. The far reaching effects of politics on the direction of and the ultimate progression of medical advancements is clearly revealed in this well written historical perspective on malaria.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to get through this. Fascinating topic but very technical read.

[Mary Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and readable.