Atsuko Naono is a Teaching and Research Fellow in the Centre for the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology. She is currently researching the history of malaria in Southeast Asia as part of a larger research project at the Unit. Her broader research interests include the history of epidemic diseases, public health, and rural health in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on Myanmar.
History of infectious diseases in Asia (malaria & smallpox)
History of International health
History of Southeast Asia
I research the history of infectious diseases, particularly malaria and smallpox, in Southeast Asia during and after the colonial period. My broader research interest includes the technical, administrative, social, and international aspects of the development of medical policies and practices related to infectious diseases. My current research examines the history of the malaria control programmes in Myanmar after the British period, with attention to both state programmes and extra-state medical/health care. A particular sub-national geographic focus is malaria control in the border areas of Myanmar where disease eradication and health provision has historically been complicated by their status as conflict zones. I am planning to expand this research to include other parts of Southeast Asia that also have been long suffering from the twin scourges of malaria and war.
Featured Publication
The State of Vaccination: The Fight Against Smallpox in Colonial Burma.
Published as part of the New Perspectives in South Asian History Series (24). (Hyderabad: Orient Blackswan. 2009)