'Mosquitos Mean Malaria!', 1944 (c)

Colour lithograph anti-malaria medical information poster, after Second Lieutenant Stacey Hopper, published 1944 (c).

Cartoon with two mosquitos chatting over tea: 'But my dear! You must try the troops', with the warning message: 'Don't give them the Chance - Mosquitos mean Malaria!'.

This humorous poster warns of the dangers of the female mosquito, the type that carries malaria from person to person. When the mosquito bites someone it injects the parasite that causes malaria into his or her blood. The infection can cause fever, pain and vomiting. In the worst cases this can be followed by a coma and death. During some conflicts malaria has killed more people than human-made weapons.

When the British Army served in places where malaria was common, such as Malaya, it was very important to protect troops against such a dangerous infection. Soldiers slept in mosquito nets at night and sprayers were used to spread chemicals that killed the insects before they had a chance to bite. Taking a mepacrine pill every day also helped stop infection, even if it did tend to turn the skin yellow! There are more effective measures available today to stop people from getting malaria. However, they are not available to everyone. Over one million people still die from the disease every year; most of them are young children living in Africa.