Atabrine
Dublin Core
Title
Atabrine
Subject
Atabrine anti-malarial drug used by troops in World War II
Description
The pills pictured are the drug quinacrine, more commonly know by its brand name of atabrine. This drug was the next best thing to quinine, which was not readily available during the war due to the Japanese capture of the Dutch East Indies. Atabrine was an antimalarial drug, and was critical in the war in the Pacific. Soldiers with malaria, while not as likely to die as those with other illnesses, would take a soldier out of service for a long time, and resulted in losses of fighting in similar numbers to losses due to wounds and more severe illnesses. Soldiers in the Pacific were more vulnerable to malaria due to the swampy, hot, jungle-infested tropical climates they were living in, and mosquito netting at night could only go so far, and many soldiers did not even have access to that.
Unfortunately, atabrine, not unlike modern antimalarial drugs, had some side effects. One was that it could turn the patient's skin yellow! However, it was absolutely necessary for success for the Allies in the Pacific theater of operations. Just in the Philippines alone, 24,000 American and Filipino troops fighting the Japanese were infected with malaria and unable to effectively serve, out of the 75,000 troops there.
Atabrine was something that most nurses in the Pacific theater would have had to know how to use and be familiar with. In fact, if they were to serve in the field in the Pacific, they likely had to take the drug alongside the men they were caring for.
Unfortunately, atabrine, not unlike modern antimalarial drugs, had some side effects. One was that it could turn the patient's skin yellow! However, it was absolutely necessary for success for the Allies in the Pacific theater of operations. Just in the Philippines alone, 24,000 American and Filipino troops fighting the Japanese were infected with malaria and unable to effectively serve, out of the 75,000 troops there.
Atabrine was something that most nurses in the Pacific theater would have had to know how to use and be familiar with. In fact, if they were to serve in the field in the Pacific, they likely had to take the drug alongside the men they were caring for.
Creator
Unknown
Source
Army Historical Foundation: National Museum of the United States Army, "The Other Foe: The U.S. Army's Fight Against Malaria in the Pacific Theater, 1942-1945," by Emmy French and Seth Paltzer: https://armyhistory.org/the-other-foe-the-u-s-armys-fight-against-malaria-in-the-pacific-theater-1942-45/
Publisher
Army Historical Foundation: National Museum of the United States Army
Date
Accessed April 24, 2020
Format
Color Photograph (jpg)
Language
English
Type
Physical Object
Identifier
Atabrine from World War II
Coverage
Malaria Drugs of World War II, Army Medicine in World War II
Collection
Citation
Unknown, “Atabrine,” US Nurses in World War II, accessed May 2, 2024, https://usnursesww2.omeka.net/items/show/40.