History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett
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History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett |
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Updated as of 2 October 05 Today in History: On October 2, 1780, Major John Andrι, a British spy associated with Benedict Arnold, was executed on this day in history. Quote of the Day: "In my view we are much worse off now than when we went into Iraq. This is not a partisan position. I voted for these guys." A senior figure at a military-sponsored think tank as told to James Fallows in "Bush's Lost Year" in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 2004) Take the Ann Coulter Quiz Where are you politically? Take the Neocon Quiz and find out. "History is Far too Important to be left to History Professors" Teaching isn't such a novel idea
Bibliography:
History of Disease Contemporary Terrorist Organizations Map of Islamic Terrorist Cells in the U.S.A.
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The Fourth Horseman:Magic Bullets and The Super OrganismsFall 2009 Popularizing Microbes People generally dont like Microbes. They assume that all microbes are Bad. So, Microbiologists have become like buffalo hunters, but instead of buffaloes, they seek Magic Bullets. Louis Pasteur got the ball rolling when he said that microbes are a menace.Leeuwenhoek and Bacteria About 300 years ago he discovered Bacteria. He also concluded that life lives on life -- it is cruel, but it is Gods will. But Bacteria are all around us. One gram of soil contains perhaps 1 to 10 billion bacterial cells. How do they reproduce?Bacteria and Viruses Bacteria are not viruses and viruses are not bacteria. Viruses are the living dead or bad news wrapped in a protein. They are floating bits of genetic material. They can be either DNA or RNA strands. They proceed then to hijack a cell, like Tony Soprano would hijack a truck of Pokemon Cards.Rats, Rats, and More Rats Rats still remain a vector. Or a carrier of disease. What do we know about rats? First of all the Black Rat (Rattus Rattus) was replaced by the Brown Rat (Rattus Norvegicus), which did not come from Norway. But swarmed from Russia and Central Asia and replaced the Black Rat even in North America.What Do We Know About Rats?The Problem with Rats Rats are sometimes called germ elevators because they help spread disease. Including: Plague. Cholera. Typhus. Leptospirosis, a disease that is caused by bacteria spread by rat urine contaminating water or food.The Search for the Cause of the Plague Alexandre Yersin studied at the Pasteur Institute and went in search of the cause of the plague. He did this independently of all other efforts in 1894. But so did a Japanese scientist, Shibasaburo Kitasato who published his findings too in English. And managed to develop a serum to be used in its treatment. As the Plague occurred since? Yes it also broke out in San Francisco too in 1900-1909.Cholera Cholera is the illness caused by a bacterium called Vibria cholerae. It infects people's intestines, causing diarrhea, vomiting and leg cramps. The most common cause of cholera is by someone eating food or drinking water that has been contaminated with the bacteria. The diarrhea and vomiting brought on by the infection quickly leaves the body without enough fluid. The following dehydration and shock can kill a person within hours.Types of Typhus Epidemic louse-borne typhus is caused by Rickettsia prowazekii and infection is favored by crowded, unsanitary living conditions such as in concentration or the more primitive refugee camps - especially those in cold areas. Epidemic louse-borne typhus is currently most prevalent in mountainous areas of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Scrub typhus is transmitted by the bite of mites or chiggers infected with Orientia tsutsugamushi (of the family Rickettsiaceae) and is found in most areas of Asia. Endemic (murine) typhus is transmitted by the bite of fleas infected with Rickettsia typhi. Endemic typhus is found worldwide.What is Typhus Typhus fever, also called typhus, is a disease that occurs throughout the world in areas where people and rats occupy the same buildings and where large numbers of mice live. It is also called murine typhus fever and is rare in the U.S. Who gets typhus? Anyone can get typhus but it occurs more often in people whose occupations or living conditions bring them into contact with rats. How is the disease spread? It is not directly spread from person to person. People get typhus after infective rat fleas contaminate fresh skin wounds or the flea bite site.Malaria Regions of the WorldThe Problem of Malaria: A Case Study It was very difficult to determine where Malaria came from. Wherever it came from it spread very quickly. From Sweden to South America, no place was spared. In 1870, Pasteur and later Koch established the revolutionary principle of specific microbes and specific diseases. By 1880 a French physician in Algeria discovered the parasite that caused Malaria. Major Charles-Louis-Alphonse Laveran saw the Plasodium falciparum.Life Cycle of the Malarial ParasiteThe Coming of Ronald Ross Ross was the man most unlikely to succeed. He was totally ignorant of mosquitoes and could not tell one of a mosquito from the other. He was not trained in Zoology and considered himself a poet-playwright of sorts. His father had other ideas. If Ross was not going to be a soldier, then he would be a doctor. He was sent to India and feel in LOVE with Rosa Bessie Bloxam, who, like Mrs. Taylor had considerable impact on him. Ross set out to find the vector that caused malaria.What Did Ross Find?Species of the Malaria Parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium vivax. Plasmodium ovale. Plasmodium malariae.Cures for Malaria Proper Sanitation. Quinine. Chloroquine. Atebrin DDT. Malaria Vaccines.Where Did It Come From? May have come to Europe from N.E. Africa about the time of the birth of Christ. The Huns probably spread the virus too in the 450s. After that, no one was safe.Types of Smallpox Variola Major, Minor, IntermediusA Horrifying Killer The dreaded killer would swept through Asia, Africa, Europe, and the New World.Lethality of Smallpox It killed one out of every four victims. At first the victim would not know what had happened.Symptoms of Smallpox By the ninth day of the infection, the first symptoms appear. They include headache, fever, chills, nausea, and backaches. Delirium can occur and last for up to three or four days. Those with a fair complexion will develop a rash with greater intensity around the face and upper torso. Over time the red spots become pustules.The Coming of Death Many died during the first few days of the infection. Once infected there was no cure. Often people died from secondary infections. No one was spared the horrors of this disease.Those Fortunate to Live Those that survived were disfigured for life. Many would be blinded.Early Treatments Bleeding The Red TreatmentInoculation and Vaccination In 1762 Robert Sutton and his six sons introduced inoculation. This came from the East and was used in China. The real hero was Edward Jenner (1749-1823). He inoculated his son and his nurse with Swine Pox. Then later with Smallpox in 1790. With no reaction. Then he switched to Cowpox as a medium for his Vaccination.Jenner at WorkSome other Info About Smallpox The Variola virus belongs to a genus of Orthopoxviruses or true pox viruses. Others in this group include buffalopox, camelpox, monkeypox, mousepox, rabbitpox, and raccoonpox. Sometimes these monikers are misnomers since cowpox and monkeypox are actually carried by rodents that infect monkeys and cows.Lady Mary Wortley Montagu She was a London socialite and a wife member of Parliament. She was a famous beauty in her youth. Then she contracted Smallpox at the age of 26. This happened after her brother became ill with the disease.Lady Montagu and Smallpox She survived but was severely scared. She lost her eyebrows. In 1717 accompanied her husband to Constantinople. Shortly after her arrival she became familiar with variolation. She had her five year old son inoculated this way.Variolation There were different forms of the procedure. The Chinese used a form called insufflation. In Russia, they slapped their skins with the stuff. In 1721, Lady Montagu brought the procedure to England and arranged for the Princess of Wales to sponsor a public demonstration. Six prisoners who were sentenced to be hanged were variolated and then exposed to active smallpox. They were never infected.Lady Montagu and Smallpox She survived but was severely scared. She lost her eyebrows. In 1717 accompanied her husband to Constantinople. Shortly after her arrival she became familiar with variolation. She had her five year old son inoculated this way.Louis Pasteur (1822-95) and All the Rest Joseph Lister followed in the wake of Pasteurs discovery of microorganisms in 1957. Lister introduced antiseptic surgery in the 1860s.Louis Pasteur (1822-95)The Germ Theory of Disease Pasteur was the father of the germ theory of disease. He discovered that microorganisms were responsible for the spoiling of milk. He spent his life cultivating organisms that cause disease. In 1879 he had a piece of luck to discover that chickens that were vaccinated with a weakened strain of Chicken Cholera that protected them against the disease. The process that he discovered was called Attenuation. Attenuation became the basis for the development of several vaccines.Robert Koch ( 1843-1910) and His Four Postulates A Specific organism must be associated with a specific illness. The organism must be isolated in pure culture and then subculture over repeated generations. When inoculated into healthy susceptible animals and the organism once again must cause the disease. The organism must be isolated in pure culture form the samples taken from the sick animal.Robert Koch Wins the Noble Prize in Medicine in 1905Kochs Greatest Achievement His greatest achievement came with the discovery of the microorganism that caused tuberculosis. This was mycobacterium tuberculosis. Which shared the same genus with the mycobacterium that caused leprosy. This was especially important since tuberculosis killed one out of every seven victims.Paul Erlich He was one of Kochs able assistants. He came up with the concept of the minimal lethal dose. He developed dyes that allowed microbiologists to see microorganisms. He also believe that body may harbor what he called magic bullets. Then in 1906 the Prussian scientist discovered treponema pallidum, the agent that caused syphilis. Erlich than found a cure, first Salvarsan, but it proved too dangerous and it was replaced with Neosalvarsan. This was the most effective cure until Alexander Flemings discovery of penicillin in 1928.Background of the Disease The disease has been around for a long time. During the Middle Ages, Kings administered the Kings Touch to those who had Scrofula. Tuberculosis came in many different forms from Consumption to Lupis Vulgaris. The most common type was Consumption, better known as TB.Early Treatments Before Robert Koch discovered the bacillus that caused TB in 1882 there was only one treatment. That treatment was pioneered by George Bodington. This was called the Sanatorium Method. It involved open air, rest, and recuperation as a means of making the disease go into remission. By 1930, 90,000 people died of TB in the U.S. and 50,000 in Great Britain, and 66,000 in France.Victory over TB A number of key people played a role in the defeat of the White Plague. One was Selman Waksman a microbiologist at Rutgers University, who believed that antibiotics could defeat the disease. Another was Gerhard Damagk a microbiologist who worked for Bayer and developed Protosil and later the thiosemicarbazones. The last pioneer was a Jurgen Lehmann, who discovered Para-aminosalicylic Acid (PAS). All of these men played a key role in the defeat of TB.Streptomycin The wonder drug was discovered by Waksman, but more importantly, by his graduate student, Albert Shatz. Later on, when Waksman won the Nobel Prize, Shatz demanded a part of the award. At first Streptomycin was effective, but over time, the bacillus developed a resistance and required multiple drugs. By the 1970s TB was on the decline and public health officials thought the war was won. How wrong they were. Then along came AIDS.Introduction to Polio Parents feared this disease like no other. It made its first appearance in 1835. For the most part, the victims were children. Like Smallpox, it did not respect rank or privilege. The disease is spread by fecal matter. But it took time to discover that fact. The agent is a virus and enters the body orally.The 1916 Epidemic of Polio Twenty states experienced a major outbreak. That is if they had reporting laws. All told 27,363 cases of polio were reported. New York had the most with 9,023 of which 2,448 died. The publics reaction was to flee the cities during the summer.American Perceptions ChangedDefeating Polio First thing you had to do was discover the cause. Which was done in 1908 by the Austrian Karl Landsteiner. Who discovered that it was virus. Later he would win the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery of different blood types A, B, AB, and O. But the discovery that it was a virus was the first step.The Development of the Modern Charity Initially the most successful organization was the National Tuberculosis Association that came up with the Christmas Seals in 1907. Roosevelt had to come up with the similar program. But now it had to happen during the Depression. The key was the Presidents Birthday Balls in 1934. But the real achievement came with Eddie Cantor.The Defeat of Polio The fight against Polio really started in 1938 when FDRs law partner, Basil OConnor, organized the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Eddie Cantor gave it a unique way to raise money and as a result it was called The March of Dimes. Money flocked in an rose from 1.83 million in 1938 to 67 million by 1955. Money was spent on research and to fund Warm Springs.Role of Basil OConnor The March of Dimes brought in tons of money. That OConnor wisely used by establishing National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. He hired Thomas Rivers as a medical advisor. Then funneled funds to research institutions. This was significant after what had happened earlier.The Initial Failures William H. Park, a professor of bacteriology at NYU Medical School. Recommended Maurice Brodie in 1934. Who decided to use a killed-virus vaccine. But the trials were fraudulent. And Park and Brodie failed. But worse was to come.The Case of John A. Kolmer He was working on a live-virus vaccine in Philadelphia. He started in 1934. He thought he was ready. And then used a monkey medium. Vaccinated himself and his two sons and then 29 other children. Problem was the vaccine was not fully cooked. Result was a major tragedy when he gave his vaccine to 10,000 children. Nine children came down with the Mahoney Strain of Polio and died.Jonas Salk A MD, expert in Virology, at the University of Pittsburgh. His research proved promising and OConnor funded his research. Salk advocated the killed virus vaccine. The AMA did not agree and supported Albert Sabin. Who advocated a live virus vaccine.Because of Salk There were no more Iron Lungs. Parents no longer had to fear the summer. Young bodies of children were no longer deformed. But today, more people remember Albert Sabin. Yet it is the Fiftieth Anniversary of the defeat of Polio with the help of the Salk VaccineTyphoid Fever Typhoid fever is contracted by people who eat or drink water that has been infected with salmonella typhi. The symptoms include high fever, severe headache, nausea, and loss of appetite. It is sometimes accompanied by a severe cough and/or diarrhea. Fatality rates had reached 10%. There has been 17 million cases annually with 600,000 deaths. It killed 6,000 between 1607-1624 in Jamestown. In 1880, Karl Erberth identified the bacteria that causes typhoid.The Strange Events in Oyster Bay in August 1906 This was the area for rich and wealthy New Yorkers to summer. It was the home to T.R. Then the family of Charles Henry Warren came down with Typhoid. Especially the second daughter, two maids, the gardener. Everything was checked out. Then the cook disappeared.The Case of Mary Mallon The owner of the Warren summer home summoned Dr. George Soper to investigate. With Mary Mallons disappearance was very suspicious. He tracked down her previous employment history and discovered that others experienced the same situation. Then he heard that a family was struck by typhoid on Park Avenue.The Detention of Mary, aka Typhoid Mary, Mallon All told she infected 53 people of which five died. She was detained for three years and had to promise that she would never serve food again. But she broke her word. Five years later she had infected an additional 25 people. In 1915 she was sent to North Brother Island and spent the last 23 years of her life.What Happened to Mary Mallon? Robert Koch discovered that Typhoid can stay active in people that appear not to be ill with the disease. That is after they were sick. However, they never fully recovered. Instead the bacteria is lodged in the gall bladder and is passed through the victims urine and feces. Mary Mallon was the first documented carrier in the US.The Spanish Lady We do know that it spread very rapidly. It caused death at a very early age, often from secondary infections. No one, no where was spared from this disease. Something had to be done to keep the public from panic. Face masks were introduced and public events were called off. All told, approximately 20 to 40 million people worldwide had died. More Americans died of the Spanish Flu (675,000) than died in all American wars in the twentieth century.The Spanish Flu in World War I The flu was especially deadly for those between 20 and 40. About 43,000 American Doughboys died of the new strain. The Flu may have started at Camp Funston, in Kansas of all places. Americans responded by canceling all activities. About 200,000 died in October alone. They didnt know what caused the disease.The Coming of HIV HIV is old, somewhere between 10,000 or 100,000 years. The disease is also common monkeys too and is called SIV and is related to HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains. AIDs probably infected people earlier than many people thought.The Story as We Know It One of the first victims was Dr. Grethe Rask who died on Dec. 12, 1977. She died of Pneumocystis Carinii Pneumonia (PCP). By early 1981, there was something happening in America. Especially among the homosexual community when homosexual males were dying of all sorts of illness: PCP, Karposis Sarcoma (KS), Yeast infections, and other illnesses.The Role of the CDC The CDC started a cluster study. They thought they found their man, since of the first 248 men diagnosed with GRID (an earlier name for AIDS), 40 had sex with him. Especially in outbreaks in New York and LA. CDC realized that they had a Holocaust in the making. Particularly for hemophiliacs and they questioned the safety of the nations blood banks. Then came the link between AIDS and TB.
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