Sir Neil Hamilton FAirley
Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley used Australian soldiers as volunteers to conduct research on mosquito bites and malaria. His work paved the way for the work of Shortt and Garnham, who made further advances regarding malaria, in 1948. Sir Neil Hamilton Fairley's research showed that one tablet of mepacrine per day kept malaria at bay. Similarly the Germans found that atebrin helped defend against malaria. (Trueman)
Before the war
In the late 1910s Fairley investigated tropical medicine and diseases such as dysentery, typhus, and malaria in Egypt and Palestine. Fairley made significant contributions in dysentery, typhus, and malaria and was interested in tropical medicine. In 1929 Fairley had a private practice for tropical medicine and his major research interest at this time was in malaria; in Salonica (Thessaloniki), Greece. Fairley was a consulting physician for "the Australian forces in the Middle East" Fairley also was a "honorary consultant in tropical diseases at British Army headquarters in that region”. Fairley’s main focuses were dysentery and malaria. Fairley was so concerned about malaria he talked to General Sir Archibald (Earl) Wavell in order to persuade him to wait to get British and Australian troops out of Greece in 1941 before malaria season started. “In 1942 Fairley sent all available supplies of sulphaguanidine to the front line in Papua where dysentery was threatening the effort by Australian troops to prevent the capture of Port Moresby”. Malaria became even worse and more threatening. When Fairley visited Java in February 1942 he bought 120 tons of quinine and it was loaded in two ships. The quinine never reached Australia and the Japanese took the quinine. Because there was no quinine available Fairley went to London and Washington and urged them to manufacture atebrin (mepacrine). At that time Atebrin( mepacrine) was the only other effective anti-malarial drug. In 1943 Fairley and his colleagues E.V. Keogh & H.K.Ward got the Australian Army to establish the Land Headquarters Medical Research Unit in order to be able to investigate malaria pathogenesis and chemoprophylaxis. Fairley used human ‘Guinea Pigs’. He explained the potential dangers and discomforts elaborately. He also addressed the military units and told them the objectives of this work. (Fenner, Frank. "Fairley, Sir Neil Hamilton (1891-1966)." Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, n.d. Web. 22 May 2016 ).
HIS CONTRIBUTIONS DURING WORLD WAR ii
From 1943 to 1945 Fairley infected several hundred volunteers with malaria parasites, mainly Plasmodium falciparum, resulting in no deaths. He published the results of his investigations and explained how important these investigations were. A direct transfusion of 7-18 fl. oz. (200-500 ml) of blood between human volunteers gave positive results for about seven minutes after the bite of an infected mosquito. There were positive results after six to seven days with malignant tertian (falciparum) and with benign tertian (vivax) malaria there were positive results after eight to nine days. This foreshadowed the discovery of the exoerythrocytic cycle. The investigations showed that using the ‘subinoculation’ technique atebrin in sufficient doses, when taken daily, suppressed vivax malaria and and acted as a cure for falciparum malaria. Atebrin worked even in harsh conditions such as extreme hot and cold weather, shortages of food and sleep, lack of sleep, and exhausting marches with full equipment. There were investigations of how effective atebrin was against certain strains of Plasmodium falciparum. Besides atebrin other drugs were examined such as plasmoquine, paludrine, and chloroquine. Fairley's findings have never been challenged, and provide unique information, that is unobtainable under any conditions except those of a major war. “As an outcome of the findings with atebrin, the Australian army promulgated orders to ensure that the proper dosage was taken regularly, and that the responsibility for ensuring this procedure rested with the unit commander, not with the medical officer”. The results of taking atebrin daily were dramatic at the beginning in the Papuan campaign the malaria rate was 2496 per thousand per year. This rate fell to 740 per thousand in December 1943 and to 26 per thousand in November 1944. The allied commander of South-East Asia, Earl Mountbatten followed the Australian orders and had similar results among his forces. The control of malaria was a turning-point in the war in Burma and the Islands. Fairley had made major contributions in several fields of tropical medicine. Fairley’s authority in tropical medicine allowed him to convince General Sir Thomas Blamey and MacArthur of the importance of measures in order to control malaria and other disabling tropical diseases. “His ability to gain enthusiastic co-operation was crucial to the success of his greatest work, the study of malaria pathogenesis and chemoprophylaxis in human volunteers”. (Fenner, Frank. "Fairley, Sir Neil Hamilton (1891-1966)." Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, n.d. Web. 22 May 2016. ).