Malaria Therapy: Feverish Attempts
Inducing Fever with Malaria
In a desperate bid to treat syphilis-induced mental illness, some European doctors turned to malaria therapy. This involved deliberately infecting patients with malaria to induce high fevers, which were believed to kill the syphilis bacteria. While this method occasionally succeeded in reducing syphilis symptoms, it often brought severe complications and additional suffering.
A Risky Procedure
A well-documented case involved a patient named Heinrich in a German asylum. Heinrich was infected with malaria to treat his syphilis-induced dementia. Though his syphilis symptoms temporarily subsided, the violent malaria fevers nearly killed him. He was left debilitated, oscillating between the delirium of syphilis and the high fevers of malaria, his overall health rapidly declining.
