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 University of Aberdeen with degrees in Master ...

, is the highest accolade the

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, more commonly known by its acronym RSTMH, was founded in 1907 by Sir James Cantlie and George Carmichael Low. Sir Patrick Manson, the Society's first President (1907–1909), was recognised as "t ...

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. His discoveries of parasitic infections such as lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis (the parasite '' Schistosoma mansoni''),

sparganosis Sparganosis is a parasitic infection caused by the plerocercoid larvae of the genus '' Spirometra'' including ''S. mansoni'', ''S. ranarum'', ''S. mansonoides'' and ''S. erinacei''.John, D.T. and Petri, W.A. Markell and Voge's Medical Parasitol ...

, 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 (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who made important discoveries in parasitology. Working as a medical officer to the

Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...

Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

, in 1887, he discovered that the disease lymphatic filariasis (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 lymphat ...

'') that was transmitted by the bite of a mosquito (''Culex fatigans'', now ''

Culex quinquefasciatus ''Culex'' is a genus of mosquitoes, several species of which serve as vectors of one or more important diseases of birds, humans, and other animals. The diseases they vector include arbovirus infections such as West Nile virus, Japanese encep ...

''). This was the first discovery that certain diseases could be tramsitted 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 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

, a parasitic infection caused by the tapeworm ''

Spirometra ''Spirometra'' is a genus of pseudophyllid cestodes that reproduce in canines and felines, but can also cause pathology in humans if infected. As an adult, this tapeworm lives in the small intestine of its definitive host and produces eggs th ...

''. 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 mosquitoes ...

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, accord ...

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 Sir James Cantlie (17 January 1851 – 28 May 1926) was a British physician. He was a pioneer of first aid, which in 1875 was unknown: even the police had no knowledge of basic techniques such as how to stop serious bleeding and applying splin ...

and George Carmichael Low. Manson became the first elected president of the society, serving from 1907 to 1909. Sir Willaim 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 and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

, an institute Manson had established, should contain a respectable protrait 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 an eminent English neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a system ...

, 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 highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever. The ...

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

Brucella ''Brucella'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria, named after David Bruce (1855–1931). They are small (0.5 to 0.7 by 0.6 to 1.5 µm), non encapsulated, non motile, facultatively intracellular coccobacilli. ''Brucella'' spp. are the caus ...

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

Trypanosoma brucei ''Trypanosoma brucei'' is a species of parasitic 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 exclusively extrace ...

'') that caused animal sleeping sickness (''nagana'') in Zululand. Then he led

Sleeping Sickness Commission The Sleeping Sickness Commission was a medical project established by the British Royal Society to investigate the outbreak of African sleeping sickness or African trypanosomiasis in Africa at the turn of the 20th century. The outbreak of the dis ...

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, Glos ...

(''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