The Manson Medal (full name Sir Patrick Manson Medal, originally the Manson Memorial Medal), named in honour of Sir

Patrick Manson Sir Patrick Manson (3 October 1844 – 9 April 1922) was a Scottish physician who made important discoveries in parasitology, and was a founder of the field of tropical medicine. He graduated from the University of Aberdeen with degrees in Ma ...

, is the highest accolade the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene awards. Started in 1923, it is awarded triennially to an individual whose contribution to tropical medicine or hygiene is deemed worthy by the council. Patrick Manson was a pioneer in medical science called

tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

. His discoveries of parasitic infections such as

lymphatic filariasis Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms. Usually acquired in childhood, it is a leading cause of permanent disability worldwide, impacting over a hundred million people and manifesting itself in ...

schistosomiasis Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever is a neglected tropical helminthiasis, disease caused by parasitism, parasitic Schistosoma, flatworms called schistosomes. It affects both humans and animals. It affects ...

(the parasite '' Schistosoma mansoni''), sparganosis, and contribution to malaria research earned him the title "father of tropical medicine." Soon after his death in 1922, the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene decided to create a new medal in his honour. The first Manson Medal was awarded to Sir David Bruce in 1923. The 2022 Manson Medal was awarded to Sir Alimuddin Zumla, the first time in a hundred years that it was awarded to an ethnic minority scientist.

History

Background

Sir Patrick Manson was a Scottish

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

who made important discoveries in

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

. Working as a medical officer to the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs at

Amoy Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...

, in 1887, he discovered that the disease

(notably as elephantiasis) was due to a tiny roundworm (now called ''

Wuchereria bancrofti ''Wuchereria bancrofti'' is a filarial (arthropod-borne) nematode (roundworm) that is the major cause of lymphatic filariasis. It is one of the three parasitic worms, together with ''Brugia malayi'' and '' B. timori'', that infect the lymphati ...

'') that was transmitted by the bite of a mosquito (''Culex fatigans'', now '' Culex quinquefasciatus''). This was the first discovery that certain diseases could be transmitted by insects, the establishment of vector biology. In 1902, he discovered the species of blood fluke, ''Schistosoma'', that caused intestinal bilharziasis. The first ''Schistosoma'' species, ''S. haemtabobium'', that caused urinary bilharziasia was discovered by a German physician

Theodor Bilharz Theodor Maximilian Bilharz (23 March 1825 – 9 May 1862) was a German physician who made pioneering discoveries in the field of parasitology. His contributions led to the foundation of tropical medicine. He is best remembered as the discoverer o ...

in 1851. Louis Westenra Sambon gave the name of the second species, ''Schistosomum mansoni'' in 1907 in honour of the discoverer. In 1882, Manson discovered sparganosis, a parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm '' Spirometra''. In 1894, Manson formulated the

mosquito-malaria theory Mosquito-malaria theory (or sometimes mosquito theory) was a scientific theory developed in the latter half of the 19th century that solved the question of how malaria was transmitted. The theory proposed that malaria was transmitted by mosquitoe ...

to explain the hitherto unknown process of the transmission of malaria, one of the deadliest parasitic diseases in humans. Based on his experiences in parasitic infections, he predicted that malarial parasites were protozoans and that they were transmitted by mosquitos. The theory was experimentally proved by Ronald Ross in India who received the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...

in 1902 for the discovery. For his contributions, Manson had been recognised as the "father of tropical medicine."

Establishment

The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, (RSTMH) was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Manson became the first elected president of the society, serving from 1907 to 1909. Sir William Boog Leishman, Major-General of the

Army Medical Services The Army Medical Services (AMS) is the organisation responsible for administering the corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army. It is headquartered at the former Staff College, Camberley, near the ...

, felt that the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

, an institute Manson had established, should contain a respectable portrait of the founder. In 1921, Leishman collected donations from friends and admirers as the Portrait Fund. There was a leftover of fund after completion of the project. After Manson's death in 1922, the surplus money was given to the RSTMH to institute an award for scientists with outstanding contributions to tropical medicine and hygiene. On 26 September 1922, the first Manson Memorial Medal (as an honorary award) was given to Lady Manson (Henrietta Isabella Manson) in recognition of her support to Manson throughout the latter's career. The medal was made in bronze having Manson's portrait on one side and the reverse an inscription, "London School of Tropical Medicine." Sir

Charles Scott Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was a British neurophysiology, neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a ...

, the president of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

announced on 30 November 1922:

The Manson Memorial Medal, this year instituted there for triennial award to work of special distinction in Tropical Medicine, is a tribute to Manson's work of example and leadership in that field of medical science.

First medal and modifications

After the first medal to Lady Manson, RSTMH decided to change the inscription to "Tropical Medicine and Hygiene." The first official medal was given to Sir David Bruce in 1923. Bruce had made pioneering studies and discoveries in tropical medicine. In 1886 he led the Malta Fever Commission that investigated an outbreak of Malta fever (later eponymously called

brucellosis Brucellosis is a zoonosis spread primarily via ingestion of raw milk, unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The bacteria causing this disease, ''Brucella'', are small ...

) in Malta. He discovered that the disease was due to a bacterium, later named ''

Brucella ''Brucella'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacterium, bacteria, named after David Bruce (microbiologist), David Bruce (1855–1931). They are small (0.5 to 0.7 by 0.6 to 1.5 μm), non-Bacterial capsule, encapsulated, non-motile, facultatively ...

''. In 1894, he discovered a protozoan parasite (later named after him as ''

Trypanosoma brucei ''Trypanosoma brucei'' is a species of parasitic Kinetoplastida, kinetoplastid belonging to the genus ''Trypanosoma'' that is present in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike other protozoan parasites that normally infect blood and tissue cells, it is excl ...

'') that caused animal sleeping sickness (''nagana'') in Zululand. Then he led Sleeping Sickness Commission in 1902 to investigate the cause of human sleeping sickness. His team discovered that the infection was transmitted by the

tsetse fly Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies) are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Gloss ...

(''Glossina palpalis'')''.'' The inscription had been changed to "Tropical Medicine. A.D. 1922" to commemorate the death year of Manson.

Recipients

The Manson Medal is given every three years since 1923, as follows:

References