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Man, monkeys and malaria.

¹Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, UK. gilks@liverpool.ac.uk

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences

|June 19, 2001

Summary

Early 20th-century experiments involved injecting monkey blood into humans for pyrogen therapy or to study zoonotic malaria. The potential for retrovirus transmission via this method was overlooked but remains unproven.

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Area of Science:

Historical medical research
Zoonotic disease transmission
Infectious disease epidemiology

Background:

In the past century, human trials utilized monkey blood injections for medical treatments and research.
These experiments aimed to treat neurosyphilis via simian malaria (pyrogen therapy) or identify zoonotic malaria reservoirs.
Historical medical practices, though now uncommon, offer insights into past disease control and treatment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

To document historical experiments involving monkey blood transfusions in humans.
To explore the uninvestigated hypothesis of retroviral transmission through these procedures.
To highlight potentially hazardous historical research conducted before electronic record-keeping.

Main Methods:

Review of historical medical records and experimental procedures.
Analysis of past therapeutic interventions and their rationales.
Investigation into the transmission routes of infectious agents.

Main Results:

Experiments were conducted for pyrogen therapy and to assess zoonotic malaria.
The possibility of retrovirus transmission via direct blood inoculation was not investigated.
Significant historical research may be absent from modern databases.

Conclusions:

Historical medical practices included risky procedures like monkey blood injections.
The potential for retroviral transmission in these experiments was an overlooked area of research.
Remembering hazardous historical research is crucial for understanding scientific progress and risks.

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