Malaria has a long history of popularity, and can be traced back to the Ancient Greek and Roman Empire . There are records of the ancient word "Malaria" in oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions from the Shang Dynasty. Malaria is an infectious disease caused by infection by the infection of Plasmodium by biting an anopheles mosquito or inputting blood from persons with Plasmodium . There are four types of Plasmodium parasites that are parasitic in the human body, namely Plasmodium vivax , Plasmodium vivax , Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium ova. It is mainly manifested as periodic and regular attacks, including chills, fever, and sweating throughout the body. After a long and multiple attacks, it can cause anemia and spleen enlargement.
So far, about one-half of the world's population is threatened by malaria. It is mainly distributed in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, and Africa is the most serious. About 500 million people live in areas where malaria is rampant, and more than 3,000 people are killed by malaria every day. These areas are relatively poor and have very backward health and medical conditions. Statistics in 2020 show that there are about 241 million malaria cases worldwide, causing 627,000 deaths, which is equivalent to one death from malaria every minute.
Before the founding of New China , about 30 million people were infected with malaria every year in my country, and more than 300,000 deaths were reported. On June 29, 2021, World Health Organization (WHO) officially announced that China has completely eliminated malaria, becoming the 40th country in the world to eliminate malaria. Behind this feat, in addition to the leap in economic construction in New China and the importance of public health construction, there is another name that must be mentioned - Tu Yoyo.
In 2015, Tu Youyou, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a new drug for treating malaria, for her. In 2016, she won the National Highest Science and Technology Award for . As China's first locally trained Nobel Prize winner, behind the infinite glory is the tireless and selfless dedication of the older generation of scientists, which has achieved this achievement today.
Tu Youyou graduated from Peking University Medical College in 1955 and was assigned to work at the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine. She was admitted to the task of developing new antimalarial drugs. She was 39 years old at the time. In that special historical era, all scientific research work was almost stopped, and Tu Yoyo was just an intern researcher. But Tu Yoyo was still full of energy. In three months, he searched countless ancient Chinese medicine books and folk prescriptions, and selected more than 200 medicinal materials. I have experienced countless experiments, but the inhibitory effect on malaria is not good.
By 1966, it was the season when malaria was at its peak. Seeing that the project had not made any progress, Tu Yoyo was worried. Hard work pays off. One day, she gave her inspiration when she read "Emergency Preparation for Elbows and Treating Cold and Heat" written by Ge Hong during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. "Hold the Artemisia annua , use two liters of water to stain it, twist it and take it all." Why do you twist it and pick it up after staining instead of regular decoction? Tu Yoyo immediately realized sensitively that the high temperature of conventional decoctions destroyed the active ingredients in Artemisia annua? So she immediately adjusted the direction, redesigned the experimental process, and extracted active artemisinin. The results of the
experiment are gratifying, with a 100% inhibition rate for rat malaria and monkey malaria parasites. However, if you want to use it as a clinical medicine, you must pass the toxic side test. Time is tight, and Tu Yoyo didn't have time to think too much, so he personally tried the medicine with two other colleagues. What courage does it take? You should know that at that time, Tu Yoyo's two daughters were still young, but they decided to sacrifice themselves for scientific research. In that era, the experimental equipment was simple, which also left Tu Yoyo's liver disease. Fortunately, the result is good. Then he risked the infection and rushed to the epidemic area. The clinical trials on the patients were also passed, proving that they had no toxic side effects on the human body. However, the application of artemisinin's clinical medical is still far away. Tu Yoyo immediately organized a team to decompose artemisinin's chemical formula and molecular weight. From artemisinin to its derivative dihydroartemisinin , the difficulties and obstacles in the middle are indescribable.
Before artemisinin was used, there was actually a drug called quinine for treating malaria, but quinine is highly toxic and has strong toxic side effects. Many malaria parasites have become resistant to quinine, and the treatment effect is not good. The principle of action of artemisinin is completely different from quinine. It basically has no drug resistance and no toxic side effects. The most important thing is that artemisinin extracts are widely sourced and can often only cost a few dollars when treating malaria, which is too important for poor areas.
Artemisinin remains the first choice for the treatment of malaria for a long time to come. Artemisinin has saved millions of lives today. Although our country has achieved the elimination of malaria, malaria is still one of the number one diseases that threaten human health worldwide. In the documentary BBC, Tu Yoyo is listed as one of the greatest people in the 21st century. The reason given is that "in difficult times, he still upholds scientific ideals, forges forward and does not forget to look back on the past, and her achievements span things." If the number of lives saved is calculated, there is no objection. Tu Yoyo is one of the greatest people in human history.
Now Tu Lao is 91 years old and has not stopped scientific research. He has applied the therapeutic effect of artemisinin to Lupus erythematosus . Although the road is still long, Tu Lao said he is optimistic about the results. This is the true unparalleled national warriors. It is not only the pride of the people, but also the blessing of mankind. I sincerely wish the old man a long life!
