Medicine in the Tropics (Firestone Plantations Company, 1957)

This film produced by the Firestone Plantations Company recounts efforts by the government of Liberia, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, and the Liberian Institute of the American Foundation for Tropical Medicine to improve the health and nutritional status of Liberian citizens, particularly those working on rubber plantations. The program notes that a healthy work force is necessary both for the betterment of Liberia and for the economic success of companies operating rubber, coffee, and other plantations in the country. The following tropical diseases found in Liberia are shown and discussed: leprosy, yaws, onchocerciasis, Bancroftian filariasis, tuberculosis, keloid, ainhum, tropical ulcer, trypanosomiasis, and smallpox. The film is narrated over extensive footage of Liberians in villages, streams and forests, attending clinics and screenings, and being treated by health care workers. Shots include: workers and villagers with a range of diseases and conditions; a leprosy clinic; research laboratories; collecting snails; and collecting mosquitoes for research.

Produced by the Firestone Plantations Company.

Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/8801128A

Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collections/films.