SIAM SNAPSHOTS — Malaria is a timeless issue in tropical regions and Thailand in the 1950s was no exception. In the first photo, believed to be taken some time in that decade, we see a boy and his mother getting malaria medication from a worker at an outdoor malaria control clinic in Bangkok.
These mobile teams traveled around locating sick citizens and treating them, they were often staffed with a mixture of health professionals and volunteers.
In 1947 Thailand, the death rate from malaria was about three percent and the disease was one of the country’s leading causes of death. The national Malaria Control Program was initiated in 1949 and first used in northern Thailand. That program was credited with the great success of malaria control in the 50s and 60s, when death from the disease dropped down under one percent.
Thankfully, malaria rates are lower today. The country suffers about 30,000 cases of malaria each year with a death rate of less than one percent. Half of the country’s residents live in completely malaria-free areas, according to a study by the University of California.
Robert Rochlen was born in Bangkok in 1956. His dad worked at USIS and his family knew all kinds of interesting people. He lives in California today, but is pleased to share his family’s photo collection with Coconuts Bangkok readers.
Related:
Siam Snapshots: Previously unseen pictures of little boy cooling off in Sathorn Klong, 1955
Siam Snapshots: Previously unpublished pictures of Jim Thompson at the River Kwai, 1960
Ticket to 70s Bangkok: Stunning photos of people from the past
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