John Brian Christopherson (1868-1955) was one of the first doctors to be recruited to serve in the Sudan under the British colonial rule. During his work in Sudan (1902-1919) he was key in establishing the civilian medical services in Sudan, including establishing Khartoum Civil Hospital (opened in 1909). The present article focuses on the work of Dr Christopherson in Khartoum Civil Hospital in which he introduced tartar emetic for the first time for the treatment of schistosomiasis. To validate this treatment, Christopherson conducted a series of clinical trials and published his findings in leading medical journals. He had to respond to priority claims over this discovery and to deal with skepticism about the safety of this new treatment. The publications of Christopherson covered not only the therapeutic efficacy of the drug but also discussed the epidemiology of the disease, the possible role of mass chemotherapy and also envisioned chemotherapy in school-age children as a possible strategy for future elimination of the disease.
Key words: Chemotherapy; Christopherson; History of tropical medicine; Schistosomiasis; Sudan
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