THE NATURE OF THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA EPIDEMIC DURING THE LATTER STAGES OF OTTOMAN ERA AND FIRST QUARTER CENTURY OF THE REPUBLIC

Abstract

One of the events that left deep scars on the history of humanity are epidemics. With their destructive and devastating powers, epidemics led to significant impacts and changes on the demographic structures, political, social, economic, cultural lives of communities. Hence, malaria, the subject of this study, is also a fatal epidemic which has been known since the times when humans began agricultural activities. Malaria turned into a mass epidemic issue in the army and in some settlements in the Ottoman Empire, particularly during the first quarter of the 20th century. Wars, political crises, migrations, famine, poor living conditions have all encouraged malaria epidemics. Ottoman Empire actually did take some significant measures against malaria but the difficult conditions of the time prevented those measures to be effective. Then during the early years of the Republic, the postwar nation was also going through difficult times and this coupled with the deficiencies in health infrastructure helped malaria to spread easily. Thereupon, the state declared a total national struggle, or an official war against malaria, with an obligation for all public and private elements to unite. This study has been conducted with the purpose of providing a general overview of the struggle against malaria during the latter stages of the Ottoman period and the first quarter of the century of the Republic, discussing the kind of steps taken, policies and practises developed, hence conveying a historic experience on battling malaria and other similar epidemics.