Museum of Health Care Display Supports Buy-A-Net’s Work

Kingston, ON

In support of World Malaria Day, the Museum of Health Care at Kingston’s special historical display described the dangers Canadians once faced from malaria and the misconceptions around its cause. In the early 1800s, malaria was blamed on bad smelling air as found  in swamps and marshes, not on mosquitoes.

Mounted at Buy-A-Net’s 2009 World Malaria Dayevent on 24 April, the Museum’s exhibit “The NET Result: MalariaPrevention in Uganda”explained the details of malarial infection and its transmission. It also informed visitors about current malaria prevention strategies and tools such as bed nets used by healthcare workers in Uganda.

Canada has not been immune to the ravages of malaria. From the early 1800s there aremany reports of Eastern Ontario settlers suffering from the disease. As museum curator Paul Robertson described, “During construction of the Rideau Canal (1826-1831) when hundreds of canal builders and their families moved to the area, many became infected with ‘swamp fever’ during the’sickly season’ in the late summer. At least 500 people died from malaria during that period.”

Paul Robertson, Museum of Health Care at Kingston