Insect Man: Fight Against Malaria in Africa

The title of this book is taken from the author's nickname ('Bwana Dudu') when he worked in Africa: he was a medical entomologist and, with his colleagues, was in the vanguard of the fight against the Anopheles mosquito, carrier of malaria. He joined the Colonial Medical Research Service in 1950, and took up a post in Tanzania (then still Tanganyika) with the newly established Filariasis Research Unit. Dr. Smith later went on to work for the World Health Organisation in Southern Africa and Nigeria, and his book covers vital developments in tropical medicine and deals with, for example, the dilemma over the use of DDT - its initial success followed by growing concern over its long-term effects. There are also lively descriptions of social life in an expatriate community and the close and fruitful relationship with Africa.