
Ague or marsh fever (vivax malaria) is a disease transmitted by female blood sucking mosquitoes that breed in shallow stagnant water. During the 16th to 19th centuries it was endemic in the English fenlands and the coastal marshes of Kent and Essex. However, the history of the disease in many parts of Britain, especially the north, is poorly researched and incompletely understood. This book draws together a highly dispersed literature to present a picture of the history, past distribution and importance of ‘the ague’ in northern Britain, with a particular focus on Cumbria. The book concludes by examining the possibility of malaria re-establishing its former presence in Cumbria and the north as a result of climate warming and other factors.
Available from Stephen Read -
email: levenshistory@btinternet.com
Price £8.50 (£7.50 to members of LLHG or CWAAS)