Malaria drug dispensing. Close-up of the antimalarial drug atabrine being distributed during World War II (1939-1945) according to a checklist. Also known as quinacrine and mepacrine, this drug acts against the protozoan that causes malaria. Malaria is caused by protozoan parasites that are transmitted by the bites of mosquitoes. It causes periodic fevers and can kill. It affects millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Atabrine was first approved in the 1930s. It has a bitter taste and could turn the skin yellow, so officers had to supervise the daily doses. Photographed at a US Army medical facility.