George Macdonald (malariologist)

George Macdonald (22 June 1903 – 10 December 1967) was a British physician who was Professor of Tropical Hygiene at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. His research concentrated primarily on malaria, its epidemiology and control. He was the author of many papers on the mathematical analysis of transmission of tropical infections and the author of The Epidemiology and Control of Malaria, published in 1957.

From observations in the field, Macdonald developed concepts covering the mathematical modelling of the transmission of vector-borne tropical diseases and then applied the results to the eradication of the disease.[1] He was early in perceiving the value of computer analysis in this area.[2]

Macdonald developed the concept of the basic reproduction rate to quantitatively understand the transmission of malaria. He proposed that, if this rate is less than 1, the disease will eventually die out in a population, because on average an infectious person will transmit to fewer than one other susceptible person. If it is greater than 1, then the disease will spread.[3]

The George Macdonald Medal was first awarded in 1972 and every 3 years thereafter to recognise outstanding contributions to tropical hygiene.[4] The medal is awarded jointly by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

George Macdonald Medal
George Macdonald Medal
  1. ^ Macdonald, George (January 1968). "Obituary". Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 62 (1): 160–IN3. doi:10.1016/0035-9203(68)90079-5.
  2. ^ MacDonald, George; Cuellar, C. B.; Foll, C. V. (1967). "The use of computer models in the analysis of a malaria situation" (PDF). World Health Organization. WHO/Mal/67.623.
  3. ^ Macdonald, G. (1956). "Epidemiological basis of malaria control". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 15 (3–5): 613–626. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 2538278. PMID 13404439.
  4. ^ "George Macdonald Medal | RSTMH". rstmh.org. Retrieved 2022-06-25.