55 - The Fever Tree
Bedside Rounds
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The Complex Legacy of Quinine: From Empire to Pandemic
This chapter explores the historical significance of quinine, examining its role in imperialism and as a treatment for malaria. It sets the stage for a broader discussion on quinine's impact during global health crises, connecting past pandemics to modern treatments.
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Where did cinchona, the first medication to cure malaria, come from? This episode explores the murky history of the bark of the fever tree and its derivative chloroquine with mysterious pre-Columbian Pacific crossings of the plasmodium parasite, Jesuit priests and Inca healers, a Chinese Emperor performing a clinical trial to treat his fever, chemistry leading to the first modern pharmaceuticals, and imperialism on a global scale. This episode is the first of a multi-part series exploring how hydroxychloroquine became the great hope for treating COVID-19.
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