In 1881 Ronald Ross , a young doctor, entered the Indian Medical Service. Almost immediately he became obsessed with experimentally verifying the theory that mosquitoes spread malaria; at that time the cause of the disease was disputed.
Through the centuries it had caused great suffering and uncounted deaths; indeed, every year a third of the British Army in India sickened or died from malaria.
This is the story of how Ross - despite Army and official indifference and obstruction - determinedly pursued his research and was eventually knighted for his pioneer work in this field.
Written by TONY VAN DEN BERGH Producer ALAN BURGESS
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