Sonti Dakshinamurthy M.B.,B.S., B.S.Sc., D.P.H., D.T.M.H., Ph.D. (22 December 1899 - 1975) was a professor of Social and Preventive Medicine in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, medical writer and an expert on

Malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

. He was born at

Anakapalle Anakapalli (, ) is a suburb of Visakhapatnam city, located within the jurisdiction of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. It contains India's second largest jaggery market. History The town was ruled by the Kalinga (histo ...

Visakhapatnam district Visakhapatnam district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, headquartered at Visakhapatnam. It is one of the twenty-six districts in Andhra Pradesh state. The district shares borders wi ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. After studying M.B.,B.S. at

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, he went to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for higher studies. He did D.T.H and D.T.M.H. and did his Ph.D. After returning to India, he joined

Andhra Medical College Andhra Medical College is a public medical college in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, and affiliated to Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences. It is the oldest medical college in Andhra Pradesh, the sixth oldest & one of the top medi ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

as Lecturer between 1932 and 1938. He joined and worked in different positions between 1941 and 1951. He was appointed as Director of Health between 1953 and 1955 under

Government of Andhra Pradesh The Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as GoAP, is the Administrative division, state government and the administrative body responsible for the governance of the States of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is the capital ...

. He was the adviser to

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

for about 25 years on

. He held the position of Deputy director of Singapore office for 2 years. He visited Iraq, Alexandria and other countries as a Malaria team. He wrote a textbook for medical students in India titled "Introduction to Preventive and Social Medicine" in 1962. It was published by Educational Enterprises,

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

. The foreword is written by A. L. Mudaliar. In memory of his services, Andhra Medical College instituted a medal to be given to the meritorious students every year named "Dr. Sonti Dakshina Murthy Prize".Social and Preventive Medicine Department at AMC official website.
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References

* Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005.

External links

Telugu writers 20th-century Indian medical doctors 1899 births 1975 deaths People from Visakhapatnam district Medical doctors from Andhra Pradesh {{India-med-bio-stub