The Study Of Diseases And Medical Problems In The Travel Notes Of The British Explorers In Africa In The Mid And Late 19th Century

In the middle of the 18 th century,with the deepening of western industrial revolution and the rapid development of capitalist economy,western countries began to pay attention to the African continent,which opened the prelude to the inland exploration of Africa.However,the tide of inland exploration soon died down.The reason is that disease is a big problem in the face of exploration activities.During this period,explorers were unable to overcome the threat posed by tropical diseases to their own health and the health of others,and the ravages of African diseases brought a series of fatal blows to their activities.It was not until the middle of the 19 th century that western countries returned to the African continent and began exploring further into Africa.This depends on the progress and development of western medicine,especially the emergence of quinine,an effective antimalarial drug,which to a certain extent provides explorers with strong health protection.In the east and central parts of Africa,exploration revolved around the search for the source of the Nile river,with outstanding contributions from Richard Burton,John Speke and others.At the same time,David Livingston and Henry Stanley,surveyed southern Africa thoroughly.Although the explorers were prepared for the problems of disease in Africa,the expeditions still suffered from various diseases during travelling in Africa.The emergence of quinine as a single drug was not sufficient enough to solve the health problems faced in Africa.African diseases had a profound impact on the exploration activities during this period.The outbreak of diseases and the emergence of health problems were both hindering the whole progress of the exploration activities.The infection of various diseases caused different levels of casualties in each expedition team,which dealt a huge blow to the spirit of the team members.During the exploration,explorers not only discovered and understood Africa deeply,but also fought against diseases all the time.Therefore,they left many records about African diseases in the form of travel diaries and letters.In addition to the frequent outbreaks of common tropical diseases such as malaria,severe infectious diseases such as smallpox and cholera,which seriously endangered human health,were common during the expeditions.The threat posed by infectious diseases was magnified because of the multitudinous and crowded expeditions.While facing the severe test for the explorers' health which caused by the variety of diseasesin this Africa adventure,comparing to the previous the explorers seemed to be more mature in disease prevention,response and so on during this period.Although the explorers were still unable to completely overcome the troubles which caused by the disease on the expedition,there was an obvious reduction of mortality and loss on each team after the diseases.On the one hand,it benefits from the accumulation of predecessors' experience and the progress and development of western medicine.On the other hand,it is closely related to the explorers' rich experience,medical literacy and the help and support of local people.When the British expeditions carried out activities in the African interior in the middle and late 19 th century,they adopted relatively clear strategies to deal with the problems of diseases in Africa.At the mercy of the factors such as medical level and medical supplies reserve,explorers mostly focused on the prevention of diseases,supplemented by drug treatment,surgery and other countermeasures.Although explorers often viewed native African medicine with a certain disdain,when western medicine did not work,most were not averse to using traditional medicine,including African medicine and Islamic medicine,to deal with diseases.To a large extent,various disease prevention and response measures had provided life support for exploration activities,effectively alleviate the adverse impact of diseases on exploration activities.In addition,while focusing on their own health,explorers also conduct clinics for locals in Africa during their travels.Through the interaction at the medical level of diagnosis and treatment activities,the explorers established a benign contact with the local people.At the same time,by virtue of the practical application of western medical means in Africa,they brought western medicine to the interior of Africa and settled a solid foundation for the promotion and dissemination of Western medicine in Africa in the future.This article is based on the data of the explorers' travels in the late 19 th century,It not only organizes and reviews the diseases and health problems which had encountered explorers and local people during the African expedition in this period,but also summarizes and analyses all kinds of positive and effective measures and methods which adopted by British explorers in response to disease in the late 19 th century.health The profound impact of the exploration from diseases and health problems.And some contributions made by the British explorers in application and dissemination of western medicine in early Africa is accordingly studied in this article.