Schüffner, Wilhelm (1867–1949)

Wilhelm Schüffner (Fig. 1), a German physician who worked for a Netherland company (1897–1923) in the Sumatra colonies of The Netherlands, investigated intensively the malaria disease and tried to ameliorate the working conditions of the local people by the development of natural methods to control the spreading of the malaria. During these studies he noted a change in Plasmodium vivax infected red blood cells. This phenomenon that infected red blood cells appear pale and are sprinkled with tiny reddish condensations which were later called Schüffner’s dots and are easy means to differentiate the specimens of P. vivax and P. ovale from P. falciparum (see micrographs of Plasmodium species). Thus Schüffner was a man at the frontline in the fight against malaria as man killing disease became unforgotten in research literature. He was awarded the member of the Royal-Netherland Society of Science in 1926 and the member of the German Academy of Science (Leopoldina at Leipzig) in 1935.

Schüffn...