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An analysis of scientific standards in parasitology was carried out from the perspective of anthropology of knowledge - a new discipline that emerged from non-classical history science in the 1990s. The history of parasitology, its development and limitations, are presented in a broad socio-cultural context, as the answers of scientists to different social needs in historical periods. In parasitological history there are some periods characteristic for all newly emerging disciplines of natural science. The first systematic account of natural phenomena and their interpretations was initiated in the 16th century and continued till the mid 18th century. It was a period when the phenomena could not be explained in a proper way by the existing and accepted theories. The epidemic diseases were one of these phenomena which were interpreted based on ancient ideas, mostly humoral pathology. In the 16th century a new contagium concept of material factors (pathogenes) that could be spread by contact among humans or close association was formed. This hypothesis, however, was not widely accepted because it contradicted the well-established normative concepts in the European academic naturalism. The development of parasitology was stopped because of theoretical barriers and interpretation difficulties (non-materialistic standard of naturalism, humoral pathology and spontaneous theory). In the second half of the 18th century, the theoretical crisis in natural sciences gave a new impulse for many disciplines; among others, parasitology entered in its second stage of development. The collected observations were classified in a new way and in the context of new interpretations. The progress in parasitology was prompted by the intensified urbanization, rapid increase of European population as well as by wars connected with infections and epidemics. It resulted in two competitive research programs (the French and the German). On the basis of the same observations, they advanced different theoretical interpretations. The third period in the history of parasitology lasted from the mid 19th century to the end of World War I. At that time a common agreement was established in all Europe, with regard to interpretation of standards inspired by positivism, i.e. verification of empirical statements through observation. Parasitology emerged as a separate discipline. Theoretical barriers limiting its progress and setting the questions were overcome. The contagion concept was reinstated. The colonial conquests solving demography problem provided the most important social impulse for the progress in parasitology. It was supported by governments interested in having their colonies free from diseases, mainly malaria and other tropical diseases, and thus safe for the European pioneer settlers. There was also development of parasitological scientific institutions (institutes of tropical medicine) and didactics. After World War I parasitology entered the fruitful stage of discipline development which resulted in a division into subdisciplines and a progress of new scientific fields. Its theoretical standards have become fixed and provided a basis for preventive programmes against parasite diseases, supported financially by European goverments, USA and some other countries. Those programmes were executed both in the home countries and in the colonies. After World War II, in the fourth stage of parasitology development, attention was mainly paid to local natural environment in order to diagnose parasites and their vectors. At the same time, parasitology became an applied science practiced in many specialized centres not only at universities. Presently, the main aims of parasitology are studies on biodiversity of parasites and environmental protection in the developed countries, and within tropical medicine as the travel medicine, because of rapid increase of tourism.
The first parasitological division in the Zoological Museum was created in 1924 by the initiative of E. N. Pavlovsky and A. A. Schtakelberg and originally had a named "The permanent commission on the study of malaria mosquitoes". In the process of reorganisation of the Zoological Museum into Zoological Institute in 1930, it was modified into the Department of Parasitology with the E. N. Pavlovsky as a head. In 1934-1935, two laboratories were formed within this department: the Laboratory arachno-entomology and Laboratory of parasitic worms. In subsequent history of ZIN, these parasitological laboratories existed at first as subdivisions of the Department of Parasitology and finally the they were reorganised into independent administrative divisions. The study of parasitic and blood-sucking arthropodes is concentrated in the Laboratory of Parasitology (the head Yu. S. Balashov). A creation of the most important concepts of ecological parasitology was taking place in the Zoological Institute in the middle of 30th. E. N. Pavlovsky for the first time had formulated the principle of an organism as an environment for parasites, the concept of communities of parasitic organisms (concept of parasitocoenosis), and the theory of natural focuses of transmissive diseases. In the process of development of these scientific generalisations, a scientific direction named "Academician E. N. Pavlovsky's school of thought in parasitology" was formed in the USSR in 40-50th. In the frame of this school of thought, the main tusks of the Laboratory of Parasitology ZIN are to work out fundamental problems in ecology, systematics and morphology of parasitic and blood-sucking ticks, mites and insects. Within the ecological parasitology, different aspects of host-parasite relationships are studied at organism and population levels. The main basis of systematics studies of parasitic arthropodes is a scientific collection including over 250,000 samples. Based on this material, 40 key books and monographs on the USSR's fauna were created. Over 20 doctors of science and 50 candidates of science have been prepared within the laboratory or under the promotion of its stuff during 70 years of the existence of the Laboratory of Parasitology.
The data available in the 2003-2004 statutory forms of the Russian Federation's subjects show that the parasitological laboratories of state sanitary surveillance centers in the Russian Federation make little use of sanitary-and-parasitological studies during sanitary monitoring. Studies of the parasitological indices of foodstuffs, drinking water, wastewater and their sediments are not under way in some regions. There is a poor material and technical basis in the parasitological laboratories; the work of parasitological laboratories does not meet the requirements stipulated in Sanitary Regulations 1.2.731-99 "Safety of work with microorganisms of pathogenicity groups 3-4 and with helmints". Intralaboratory monitoring is not always under way in the parasitological laboratories. Highly skilled staff is lacking. It is necessary to extend the list of sanitary-and-parasitological studies in accordance with MU 3.2.1756-03 "Epidemiological surveillance of parasitic diseases".
The development of parasitology in the GDR is described. In the GDR there are only 2 chairs of Parasitology in the Faculties of Animal Production and Veterinary Medicine at Humboldt University Berlin and Karl Marx University Leipzig. Parasitology as a teaching field in its own was not become realized in medicine. In the training of zoology parasitology had been recognized only temporarily. For the parasitological practice particular parasitological departments or laboratories developed in each district institute, which are leaded and coordinated by reference laboratories--a state that is an important improvement compared with the situation before the war. The publishing efforts of GDR's authors and publishing houses as well as the mobilizing role of the Parasitological Society of the GDR are especially stressed.
In 1993, Malawi introduced sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for the treatment of uncomplicated, Plasmodium falciparum malaria and became the first country in Africa to abandon chloroquine for first-time therapy. This decision produced an urgent need to monitor local P. falciparum for resistance to SP and to establish both clinical and parasitological criteria for drug failure. The parasitological and haematological responses to treatment of malaria in southern Malawi with SP have now been investigated. Children, aged 6-59 months, who attended health-care facilities with uncomplicated infections of P. falciparum alone were enrolled in the study. Each received standard treatment with SP and paracetamol and was followed-up on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 post-treatment. Haemoglobin (Hb) was measured on days 0, 14 and 28. Zinc erythroprotoporphyrin (ZP) was estimated once during follow-up, as an indicator of iron status. Of 107 children enrolled, 84 children (78.5%) were followed for 14 days or until clinical failure. The parasitological success rate amongst the latter was 90.5% (76/84). One child showed poor parasite clearance (with a parasitaemia at day 3 > 25% of that at day 0), one had a low level of persistent parasitemia, and six were parasitaemic on day 14 after being parasite free on day 7. A 14-day follow-up increased the detection of parasitological failure by 7.2%. Haematological recovery on day 14 was not significantly different for parasitological successes or failures. The geometric mean parasite density (GMPD) was significantly lower in children classified as iron deficient (ZP > or = 3.0 micrograms/g Hb) and these children were significantly more likely to be severely anaemic (Hb < 8 g/dl) at day 0. Parasitological responses and haemoglobin levels 28 days after SP treatment were independent of ZP levels. These results show that, 2 years after the introduction of SP in Malawi for the treatment of uncomplicated, P. falciparum malaria, the drug combination remains effective in 90.5% of cases. Iron status did not affect parasitological recovery. Although iron-deficient children were at greater risk of severe anaemia they did not show significantly reduced recovery from malarial anaemia.
Whether and when to replace chloroquine with other antimalarial drugs is an urgent public health question in much of Africa, where Plasmodium falciparum, which is increasingly resistant to chloroquine, continues to kill millions each year. Antimalarial drug efficacy has traditionally been measured as parasitologic resistance, but recent guidelines use both clinical and parasitologic criteria to monitor therapeutic efficacy. To assess the new efficacy protocol, we measured parasitologic and therapeutic outcomes in 514 patients treated with chloroquine for uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in Mali. There was a general agreement between parasitologic and therapeutic outcomes at two sites, with 13-17% parasitologic resistance rates and 10-15% treatment failure rates. However, the new protocol overestimated early treatment failure rates (21-71% of cases classified as early treatment failure had sensitive or RI parasitologic responses), particularly where resistance was rare, and missed low-level parasitologic resistance. Modifications of the protocol for monitoring antimalarial therapeutic efficacy are recommended.