Mosquito from the collections of National Museums Scotland
Parasites: Battle for Survival opened at National Museums Scotland in December. The exhibition highlights contemporary Scottish research around five tropical parasitic diseases: malaria, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, sleeping sickness and Guinea worm disease. These diseases affect one in eighteen people across the globe and thrive in rural, poor areas.
Scotland is a centre for excellence in tropical parasitology and Parasites draws on over a century of Scottish parasitology research. While the exhibition highlights contemporary research going on here in Scotland to combat these diseases, the history of Scottish scientists working in the field of parasitology goes back to the late 19th century.